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INUVIK
The crowd at Aurora College applauded and cheered as one of its own students and employees received acknowledgement for his academic achievement.

Aurora Campus student Malcolm Gorrill, centre, receives the Governor General's Academic Medal for the highest marks of all Aurora College students in the NWT from Jeff O'Keefe, vice-president of Education and Training for Aurora College. Anne Church, continuing education co-ordinator at the Aurora Campus, helps congratulate Gorrill. This is the first time a student from Inuvik has won the award. - Samantha Stokell/NNSL photo

Malcolm Gorrill, administrative assistant for academic programs at the Aurora Campus of Aurora College and a graduate of the business administration diploma program this past spring, received the Governor General's Academic Medal Nov. 23, for having the highest grades of all students studying through Aurora College.

Gorrill worked on the diploma over the past six years and finished with a 94-per-cent average – good enough to net him the honour. This is the first time a student from Inuvik has won the award.

"It's pretty neat. I hadn't given any thought to it," Gorrill said. "I was always trying to be first in the class. We're a little competitive. I just wanted motivation to study and didn't want to coast."

That competition is not unique to Gorrill and his classmates. It's something Anne Church, continuing education co-ordinator at Aurora Campus of Aurora College, sees in a lot of the students in the continuing education courses. It adds a lot of motivation for the students, she said, and having Gorrill win the award is a kudo to all of them.

"Those students have a lot going on, they have kids, they work full-time and then have classes from Monday to Thursday, 7 to 10 (p.m.), from September until the end of June. They deserve a lot of credit," Church said. "(Malcolm) is quite bright and dedicated. He should be proud because he works hard here and at his school work."

Gorrill completed a bachelor of arts with a major in history at the University of Prince Edward Island before finishing a two-year journalism diploma at Holland College, also in Prince Edward Island. Gorrill moved to Inuvik in 2000 to work as a reporter at Inuvik Drum before starting to work at the college in 2002. He started taking one course at a time in 2005.

"A lot of it was tied to the job I do, but now I have a better understanding of my job," Gorrill said. "No plans to change my job, but I am taking a teleconference course for third year business administration with Athabasca University."

The Governor General's Academic Medal is awarded to the student with the highest overall average at a post-secondary institution. Gorrill received the Bronze Collegiate medal, for students at an accredited college. Other medals are available for university undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as for high school students.

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