Awards
Blue and Gold Awards Program
The Blue and Gold Awards program honours alumni who have distinguished themselves through outstanding service to the alma mater, their communities, Atlantic Canada and beyond.
We are pleased to announce the recipients of the听2024 Blue and听Gold Awards:
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Young Alum Achievement 2024
Carolyn Van Den Heuvel听(Class of '10)
Carolyn Van Den Heuvel grew up on a farm in Antigonish, Nova Scotia, and graduated from NSAC with a degree in animal science in 2010. While she was a student she knew one thing 鈥� she wanted to work in the agriculture industry, at the producer level, in a capacity that helped the industry progress.
For most of the time since graduating, Carolyn has worked for the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture, and in 2021, she became its first female Executive Director and quite possibly, its youngest. In this role, Carolyn supports producers in the way she always hoped she would 鈥� and her focus on collaboration is leading the industry through the challenges of our current time.
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Alum Volunteer of the Year 2024
Tracy Kittilsen听(Class of '96)
Tracy Kittilsen knows how important it is to give back to your community. Provincial boards, community development associations, community health boards and her local community hall have all benefited from her time and expertise, but no organization has been quite as fortunate to have her support as the 4-H program. In 1998, not long after graduating from NSAC, Tracy, with no previous 4-H experience, and a few friends from the Tatamagouche area started the North Shore 4-H Club from scratch. Since then, Tracy has served as a general leader for two clubs, as a project leader for several projects, and has organized public speaking rallies, judged public speaking, chaperoned tours and more.听听
Tracy is passionate about rural communities, and it鈥檚 clear that she plays a vital role in supporting her own.
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Distinguished Alum 2024
Carl Duivenvoorden听(Class of '83/'86)
Carl Duivenvoorden was raised on a dairy farm in northern New Brunswick. He graduated from NSAC with a diploma in farming technology in 1983, followed by a degree in plant science in 1986. His diverse agricultural career, which spanned two decades and took him to over 25 countries, eventually led him towards his true calling: environmental advocacy.听
In 2007, Carl took a leap of faith. He attended a training session led by former US Vice President Al Gore, then left his government job to pursue what he considered to be the most important work he could ever do: raising awareness of environmental challenges, particularly climate change. Since that time, he has dedicated himself to this cause, working as a speaker, writer and consultant. He has presented localized versions of Mr. Gore鈥檚 鈥淎n Inconvenient Truth鈥� slideshow to over 400 audiences across the region, and wrote a column for NB newspapers for 10 years.听 Between his passion for the environment and the changes he鈥檚 made in his own life, Carl provides inspiration and hope for the future of our planet.听听
Nominate an Alumnus
Fill out the online form to nominate an alumnus today! Supporting documentation (if applicable) can me emailed to colette.wyllie@dal.ca.
Mailing Address
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麻豆传媒 Faculty of Agriculture
Box 550
Truro, NS B2N 5E3