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Dal Alumni Days 2024 a time to gather and celebrate

Take a look back at the special events hosted for alumni in late May. Attendees joined tours and panel discussions in the faculties, networked at the Mentorship Mixer, celebrated at the Aurum Awards and toasted milestone reunions over a champagne brunch.
A group of 6 people are posing with white coffee mugs at an event.

Posted: June 6, 2024

By: Alison DeLory

Over three beautiful days at the end of May, Dal alumni celebrated Alumni Days. It was Dal’s sixth Alumni Days of its kind; the spring celebration began in 2019 timed during Convocation so any alumni returning to Dal to see their child(ren) graduate could attend. It moved online during the pandemic but has been fully in-person since 2022 and growing ever since.

This year, alumni took part in faculty-organized tours and panel discussions, networked at the mentorship mixer, took part in the awarding of our flagship alumni awards – the Aurum Awards – and enjoyed a delicious meal and the bestowing of the Golden Eagle Lifetime Achievement Award at the Champagne brunch.

Here are some highlights:

Faculty events

The Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences offered a tour of the newest additions to the Dal Arts Centre — the Joseph Strug Concert Hall and the Fountain School of Performing Arts’s Costume Studies department.

A person wearing a black t-shirt and black pants is standing on stage casually addressing a couple in the audience | A mannequin and sewing supplies are set up in a room with people looking at it.

At the Faculty of Management’s Neville Gilfoy Entrepreneurship Panel, successful alumni entrepreneurs shared their insights and experiences.

Three alumni panelists are sitting in chairs talking at an event. Daniel Bartek (BComm’14) and Faten Alshazly (BSc’99) join host Shakara Joseph in discussion.

The Faculty of Architecture and Planning held an alumni mixer and panel, celebrating the accomplishments and journeys of its vibrant alumni community.

Five people are seated in a semi-circle listening to one who is holding a microphone at an event.

The School of Nursing hosted a panel discussion in the Faculty of Health.

A view of 3 audience members from the back watching a speaker | A woman presents in front of a large screen to a small group of people in lecture hall seats.

The Faculty of Science held a public lecture celebrating World Ocean Day.

People seated indoors at an event in a large space with floor-to-ceiling windows, facing a speaker.

The Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture held an alumni reception at Dal’s Truro campus.

Two women are standing next to a table at an event and one is smiling and holding a baby.

The Faculty of Computer Science toured guests around its new space on Barrington Street in the Paramount Building.

People sit on couches surrounding a speaker making a presentation in a large open space at an event.

And Dal Tigers hockey alumni played a friendly game at the Halifax Forum.

Five ice hockey players in orange and gray jerseys posing together on the rink in a large indoor arena.

Mentorship Mixer

Alumni learned about the Dal Alumni Link – Dal’s alumni mentorship program – at a cocktail-hour mixer at the Lord Nelson Hotel.

Mentee Will Mclafferty (BScK'15) reflected on the importance of seeking mentors early on in his career. “If I could give my younger self advice, it would be to start the program earlier. Why wait?” he said.

Mentor Katerina Kratzer (MSc’22) spoke about her key learnings from being a mentor: “Being a mentor is not just about sharing your knowledge and building your resume – it's also about altruism, those crucial soft skills like connection and empathy and giving back and paying it forward.”

A person speaking at a podium in front of balloons | Two people speaking animatedly at an event Dal Alumni Link participants Katerina Kratzer (MSc’22) and Will Mclafferty (BScK'15) attended the Mentorship Mixer.
Two people posing for a photo at an event in a hotel meeting room dressed for business casual.
A group of people sitting around a table with food at an event.
A person standing in front of a group of people speaking to them at an event.

Aurum Awards

We were moved and inspired by the stories shared through videos and speeches at the Aurum Awards gala, where five esteemed alumni received Dal’s flagship alumni awards. This year's winners included: a physiotherapist making the world a steadier and more accessible place; a labour relations and human rights lawyer; a social policy consultant supporting less-advantaged people; organic farmers and entrepreneurs practicing agricultural sustainability; and a world-renowned battery scientist and educator/mentor. Explore their stories and videos.

Six people pose with framed certificates at a semi-formal event.

Champagne Social

We closed out Alumni Days with our much-loved Champagne Social. There we got to enjoy an incredible buffet of food, and honour and toast our milestone alumni. The highlight was the bestowing of The Golden Eagle Lifetime Achievement Award to the creator of Dal’s graduate degree in oral and maxillofacial surgery, alum and professor emeritus Dr. Frank Lovely (DDS'59).

Three men dressed in suits smiling as they pose at an event. Drs. Greg Lovely (DDS'85) (left) and Doug Lovely (DDS'88) (right) celebrated their father, Dr. Frank Lovely (DDS’59), receiving Dal's Golden Eagle Lifetime Achievement Award.
Two women are seated at a table close together smiling.
A woman stands with her hand up among groups of people sitting at tables at an event.

Until next year

We are very grateful to our Alumni Days volunteers, including our event hosts and attending Dal Alumni Association members.

We so enjoyed seeing everyone who joined us at the festivities, and we can’t wait to do it all again at Dal Alumni Days next year! Thank you for being part of our strong alumni community.