MAY 9, 2018 - Barrie, ON: A Harvard grad, a nationally recognized talk show host, children’s clothing designers, and an inventor are among this year’s recipients of the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board’s Outstanding Graduates program. This program, which is now in its sixth year, takes a peek into the lives of some very extraordinary people. One graduate from each of the nine Catholic high schools in the board is recognized during Catholic Education Week. This year’s recipients are:
St. Peter’s Catholic Secondary School - Barrie, ON
Jimmy Furlano is an entrepreneur and the co-owner of a successful digital creative agency called Tyger Shark, which is proudly located in Barrie, Ontario. The agency employs more than 30 staff and boasts an impressive list of national and international clients.
St. Theresa’s Catholic High School - Midland, ON
Rose Rumney is a veterinarian who scored 800 out of 800 on the North American Veterinary Licensing Examination (NAVLE). She is only the fourth student to achieve the highest possible result out of the 54,000 candidates who have taken the NAVLE in the past 16 years.
St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary School - Tottenham, ON
Alexandra and Lindsay Lorusso founded Nudnik, a company that makes baby clothes from 100% upcycled materials otherwise destined for landfill. Adult sweatshirts and t-shirts are dissected and screen printed to create fun and original children’s designs.
Patrick Fogarty Catholic Secondary School - Orillia, ON
Winston Gee is an articling student at Torys LLP, one of Canada's leading business law firms. He completed the combined Juris Doctor/Master of Public Policy (JD/MPP) at the University of Toronto and received his Bachelor of Arts in Government from Harvard University.
Holy Trinity Catholic High School - Bradford West Gwillimbury, ON
Alisha McLean began her career as a journalist living in Whitehorse, YT. Throughout her journalism career she worked closely on issues affecting Indigenous Canadians. In 2010, she returned home to pursue her Bachelor of Education and then returned to the Yukon to provide programs and support to at-risk youth.
St. Dominic Catholic Secondary School - Bracebridge, ON
Laura Oliver is a registered pharmacy technician and avid volunteer in the Bracebridge community. She is also an entrepreneur who started a family business called Cuffies. The sleeve-like product protects wrists from winter’s snow - her concept was recently pitched on CBC’s Dragon’s Den.
St. Joan of Arc Catholic High School - Barrie, ON
Rotimi Fadiya is one of a group of four McMaster University students who won the International James Dyson Award - a $50,000 prize to develop their idea for a handheld device that detects skin cancer. As an electrical biomedical engineering student, Rotimi’s shared invention called The sKan is a non-invasive device that can diagnose melanoma by monitoring the heat emissions of various cells.
Jean Vanier Catholic High School - Collingwood, ON
Thomas Finn attended the most prestigious acting school in America, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in NYC. After graduation, Thomas earned himself a guest host spot on Global TVs Entertainment Tonight and has performed in various Toronto shows from Spamalot to Hairspray to Anything Goes.
St. Joseph’s Catholic High School - Barrie, ON
Cynthia Loyst is a multi-faceted television producer, host, writer and two-time Gemini Award-nominee who is best known for her work as a host on CTV’s hit daytime talk show The Social. Cynthia graduated from York University’s Film and Video Department with a Bachelor of Fine Arts. She also studied with York’s Women/Gender Studies Department.
"It is such an honour to recognize these extremely talented students," said Brian Beal, Director of Education. "Every day we witness our students and staff changing the world in positive ways. We congratulate this year's recipients and thank them for demonstrating how our Catholic graduates contribute to the betterment of our province and beyond."
To learn more about this year's Outstanding Graduates or to nominate a graduate for next year, please visit www.outstandinggrads.ca.
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Media Contact: Pauline Stevenson, Communications Manager 705.722.3555 ext., 229 [email protected]