2020 alumni awards recognize extraordinary contribution

2020 Alumni Award recipients Angela Wignall (left), Mark Lovick (right)

The recipient of the 2020 Camosun College Promising Alumni Award is Angela Wignall, Registered Nurse and Manager of the Office of the Chief Nursing Officer at Island Health, and the recipient of the 2020 Camosun College Distinguished Alumni Award is Mark Lovick, Regional Vice-President for RBC, Southern Vancouver Island.

“Congratulations to Angela and Mark on being recognized for your exceptional achievements and making a lasting difference to your community,” says Camosun President Sherri Bell. “Our alumni are using their education and experience locally and globally to support families, communities and each other.”

Camosun’s annual Promising Alumni Award recognizes an outstanding Camosun alumnus who graduated less than 10 years ago and has demonstrated exemplary service achievement in their field and service to their community, while the Distinguished Alumni Award honours an alumnus who graduated more than 10 years ago and has made outstanding contributions in their profession and in community.

Angela Wignall

2020 Promising Alumni Award recipient

A 2014 graduate of the Camosun College/University of Victoria Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program, Angela Wignall is now a Registered Nurse (RN) and Manager of the Office of the Chief Nursing Officer, Chief Professional Practice, Learning and Performance and Clinical Informatics at Island Health.

Angela Wignall says she chose to study at Camosun because it allowed her to pursue her passion for health care without having to relocate from her hometown of Victoria. “I have many wonderful memories from my time as a student at Camosun,” says Wignall.  “I remember passionate debates in our ethics and nursing classes, challenging skills drills and exams in our clinical labs, and kind, supportive moments with my instructors. Some of my favourite memories were weekends spent in the campus library with my fellow second-year nursing students as we spent hours learning, laughing and grappling with pathophysiology.”

Wignall says her studies at Camosun helped her understand the foundations of nursing work and supported her successful transition into third year of the BSN program at UVic. “Now, as a practicing RN, I have used the clinical nursing skills I learned at Camosun every day as I care for patients,” adds Wignall. “During COVID-19 in particular, I have leaned heavily on the reflective and relational practice strategies I learned in my program, helping me connect meaningfully with others during challenging times and keep myself well.”

Wignall is receiving the college’s Promising Alumni Award for her outstanding work in nursing, policy, governance and innovation. As an RN, Wignall is also part of Island Health’s Innovation Lab, a local representative at the Nurse and Nurse Practitioners of British Columbia (NNPBC) RN Council and works collaboratively with other innovation leads from the Ministry of Health and various regional health authorities.

“I am deeply honoured to be recognized by the Camosun community as a Promising Alumnus,” adds Wignall. “I entered nursing with the goal of contributing to meaningful change and I remain committed to that in all I do. This is a time of incredible challenge but also of unique opportunity. We’re facing challenges we haven’t seen in close to a century and the world has never needed passionate, creative and innovative people more than it does right now.”

“To the Camosun College graduates of today – at the end of your educational journey, you have the skills and knowledge to step out into the world and make a difference,” she says. “You also have the critical thinking skills that will help you question the status quo and change things for the better. I am so excited to witness the ways in which you will influence and transform our community here on Vancouver Island and beyond.”

Mark Lovick

2020 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient

Distinguished Alumni Award recipient Mark Lovick graduated from Camosun with a Diploma in Business Administration and Management in 1984, and today is the Regional Vice-President for RBC, South Vancouver Island.

“I had been out high school for three years, had completed one year of university and was more than halfway through a boat building apprenticeship when I heard great things about Camosun’s Business Administration program,” explains Lovick.

“By far and away the most memorable part of the program was the instructors,” adds Lovick. “They had real-life experience in their subject area, and this was both energizing and motivating.  Some people may discount college as the easy way through, but I absolutely worked harder and put more hours in at Camosun. It was 100 percent worth it.”

“A high point for me was the applied business simulation segment,” he says.  “Camosun had one of the first PC labs in Victoria at the time and we were able to use the lab to create business models for the simulation. The modelling program our student team developed was used for a number of years following our graduation.”

Lovick says Camosun helped shape him as a lifelong learner, which, he says, is a more critical skill today than when he joined RBC in 1985. “Embracing learning opportunities, both formal and informal, has been a key differentiator in my career and Camosun helped foster that mindset,” he says.

“I am very honoured and humbled to be receiving the Distinguished Alumni Award,” adds Lovick. “It has caused me to pause, reflect, remember the great experience I had at Camosun.”

“To the Grads of 2020 - innovation creates opportunity. Take the amazing skills you have developed at Camosun and be an active player in creating a bright future for you and the people around you. Good luck and be safe!”

Camosun College is one of the largest colleges in British Columbia with campuses located on the Traditional Territories of the Lekwungen and W̱SÁNEĆpeoples. Established in 1971, the college serves 19,000 learners a year in certificate, diploma, bachelor's degree, post-degree diploma and continuing education programs.

Camosun has more than 65,000 alumni who are inspiring lives and making a difference, not only within their local community but around the globe. Through determination and hard work, they are revitalizing communities and transforming the way we live, work and play. The Alumni Awards celebrate our exceptional alumni.