In recognition of significant commitment to lifelong learning, community, and leadership, two Camosun alumni are honoured annually with either the Promising or Distinguished Alumni award. This year, for these reasons, dentist Alex Mitchell was named the former and the Canadian Navy manager of program support for the Centre for Leadership Excellence, HMCS Venture Angus Fedoruk the latter.
The annual Camosun alumni awards highlight individuals who exemplify excellence in their field and community. Presentations of the awards are held during the Camosun convocation ceremonies.
Since his 1996 graduation from Camosun’s Business Administration diploma program, Fedoruk has maintained a variety of community volunteer positions and has made a career in the Canadian Navy and public service.
Fedoruk says receiving the Distinguished Alumni award has been an honour and has reaffirmed his commitment to community.
“It’s a great sense of satisfaction,” he says. “I think not many folks go out and do things to be recognized; they want to contribute, and that’s how I feel. So I feel really humbled and honoured that they’ve recognized this, and it makes me feel that I’ve been able to give something back, and folks can see that. And hopefully, it’s an example for other folks who maybe are like me, when they’re starting out, they’re getting going, but later on, they have a chance when they have time, and they have resources, they can give back, too.”
After some time in the Navy prior to attending college, Fedoruk says he began to desire an education outside of his milieu, ultimately leading him to Camosun.
“I was finishing the fifth and sixth year in the Navy. And at the time, I didn’t see myself progressing much further. I was like, Okay, I’ve done this, and perhaps now is the time for me to try something different. And so I thought, I’ll go. I didn’t do a degree, so I thought, I’ll go back, and I’ll go to school, and maybe start a completely different life journey… But as things worked out, I ended up back in the Navy,” he says. “So it’s interesting because I’ve never seen myself going back to the Navy; that wasn’t my plan. It was just over time, there were some things that drew me back there, and… [Camosun] set me up.”
During his college career, Fedoruk took on student leadership roles in the Camosun College Student Society (CCSS), and Camosun’s Education Council and Board of Governors. He says his work and skill building with the CCSS was especially useful in later roles.
“[The CCSS] really helped me understand relationships between people. And I’m not saying I’m great at it, but it helped me to understand it,” he says. “As I progressed through the Navy, I would draw back on these experiences… and think about… how we interacted and how we worked together.”
Fedoruk says he appreciates his time at Camosun, which emphasizes continuous learning.
“I really came to appreciate and really connect with the lifelong-learning culture, or certainly, that’s the way we spoke: ‘Being here is about lifelong learning,’” he says. “I think I connected with that while I was there… I wasn’t just taking a course. It was just another part of a lifelong learning journey, and it was always a journey.”
As current students work toward their careers, Fedoruk suggests they find, plan, and reach for what they desire for their future.
“The advice I would give [Camosun students] is just to set out the path they want to go to, set out the goals. Everyone will say that,” he says, “but measure the progress along the way, and don’t hesitate to change if you need to. It doesn’t have to be because you picked one path, it doesn’t mean it has to be that path. You can change moving along. And don’t wait for everything to happen for you because you’ll miss it.”
After graduating from Camosun’s Associate Degree program in 2015, Promising Alumni recipient Mitchell transferred to UVic, where he completed a Biology degree. In 2024, Mitchell graduated from UBC with a doctorate in Dental Medicine.
During his education, Mitchell participated in projects and initiatives to bolster a supportive environment by working to improve the UBC Dentistry online interview process, understanding how ketamine-assisted therapy can treat nurses with PTSD, and volunteering with the Aboriginal Health Society. Mitchell was accepted into University of Alberta’s periodontal program, where he hopes to graduate as a periodontist in 2028.
Mitchell says that receiving the Promising Alumni award is significant to him.
“Obviously, it’s an honour to be acknowledged,” he says. “Camosun kind of put the framework for my education—I built a lot of connections that I carried forward through UVic and, ultimately, UBC. So to be acknowledged for the award means quite a bit.”
Mitchell says that the attitude he brought to dental school was in part informed by what he got out of his education at Camosun.
“At Camosun, I felt like I was moreso learning the building blocks of how things work, as opposed to just raw memorization,” he says, “and that carried forward, and still carries forward every day to what I do now as a dentist, and carried forward through dental school.”
Camosun’s small class sizes offered Mitchell an environment for socializing; he says he still maintains friendships with fellow Camosun alumni.
“I would say that the social aspect of getting to know your peers and being able to relieve stress from… class, that sort of stuff carries forth,” says Mitchell. “I still have a bunch of close friends that I still talk to, even though I went to school 10 years ago. And most of my study partners and friends I made at Camosun were the ones that I still continue to talk to.”
Mitchell suggests current students take advantage of their time at the college—learn and make good friends.
“I would highly recommend making the most out of your time at Camosun,” says Mitchell. “I felt like out of the three schools that I’ve been to, I have the best educational experience at Camosun. So try and take advantage of your time at Camosun and build friendships… I would just say, make the most of your time at Camosun.”
While the award marks a celebration of excellence, Fedoruk says, for him, it restores his continued passion.
“It renews this commitment I have to the college,” he says. “I look fondly back on my time. I’m excited about it, and I’m excited looking forward.”