Next Generation of Agri-Food and Environmental Leaders Graduate from OAC

Last week, the University of Guelph’s Ontario Agricultural College (OAC) celebrated its summer convocation, marking the culmination of years of academic effort for the next generation of agri-food, environmental, and community leaders.

Over the course of the 2024–25 academic year, OAC conferred degrees and diplomas to more than 1,000 students, including:

• 225 associate diplomas
• 467 undergraduate degrees
• 323 graduate degrees

In addition to celebrating academic achievement, the ceremony recognized outstanding students with convocation awards. At the Guelph campus, 47 students received 39 donor-funded prizes, including the prestigious Ken Janovicek Memorial Crop Research Prize, a $3,000 award honouring a student committed to research in cropping systems and agronomy. At the Ridgetown Campus, 20 students received 19 officially recognized donor-funded awards.

OAC also had three students nominated for university-wide honours, including the Winegard and Forster medals. Among them was Caroline Szukalo Benitez, a Horticulture diploma graduate who earned the Governor General’s Bronze Medal, awarded to the top-performing diploma student across OAC.

These new graduates now join a growing network of OAC alumni shaping Canada’s agri-food sector, protecting the environment, and strengthening communities.