Ian Stecher, winner of this year’s Governor General’s Silver Medal for the most outstanding undergraduate academic record in the class of 2019, attributes his achievements to his family and his instructors.

“Definitely my parents provided me with an environment where I could really learn,” he said after crossing the stage during Convocation, Tuesday in the St. Denis Centre. “And my sister pushed me to emulate her own success.”

A double major in business and economics, he published teaching case studies with professor Kent Walker of the Odette School of Business, held a teaching assistantship, and earned top grades. He has accepted a position with Toronto-based consultancy Public Inc., which promotes the social impact of “profit with purpose.”

Stecher will begin graduate studies in global affairs this fall at the University of Toronto.

“I have a passion for international development and using social enterprise,” he said.

Also honoured Tuesday was President’s Medallist Layale Bazzi, recognized for her significant contributions to campus and community activities while maintaining a superior academic record.

As a physics student, Bazzi held a place on the dean’s list while pursuing thesis research in the new magnetic resonance imaging lab.

Her volunteer involvement includes serving as president of the Physics Club; leading activities for the Science Olympiad, Science Academy, and Science Rendezvous outreach events; and representing the Women in Science group at conferences and community events.

Bazzi’s essay on the importance of studying the humanities to provide context to scientific understanding won her a semester’s free tuition in a 2016 competition sponsored by the Humanities Research Group.

In introducing Bazzi to Convocation, acting provost Jeff Berryman said: “She is the welcoming and caring face that the Department of Physics and the Faculty of Science are proud to put forward as a representative of the greatness that can be achieved as a student at the University of Windsor and the compassion that one can exhibit while doing so.”