Olympic Gold Medalists and Senator to Receive Honorary Degrees
Two sessions of Fall Convocation at the University of Manitoba will be held in the Investors Group Athletic Centre, on Wednesday, October 18, 2006 at 3:30 pm and Thursday, October 19 at 3:30 pm.
Honorary degrees are awarded for distinguished achievement. Candidates for honorary degrees are nominated by members of the University and the public.
At this year’s Fall Convocation, honorary degrees will be awarded to: Clara Hughes, Cindy Klassen and Vivienne Poy.
Clara Hughes, the only Olympian in the world to have won multiple medals at the Summer Olympic Games as well as the Winter Olympic Games, was born and raised in Winnipeg, her father a professor of English at the University of Manitoba and her mother a painter and weaver. Since sports were not the main focus in her family, she was not interested in individual sports until she watched speed skating during her teenage years. She started speed skating at 16 and in her first year earned a silver medal at the National Championships and was named Manitoba Junior Athlete of the Year. When speed skating waned as a sport in Winnipeg, Hughes was introduced to cycling as an alternative and attended a training camp, discovering a love for this new sport as well. During the next ten years she represented Canada in cycling at many international events, including the Pan American Games, Commonwealth Games and the Olympics. In 2000 she returned to speed skating while maintaining a competitive interest in cycling. In 2003, she faced a difficult decision: to miss a winter on ice in order to prepare for the 2004 Summer Olympics or leave cycling to focus on the 2006 Winter Olympics. She chose speed skating. It was certainly a wise decision; she won both gold and silver medals at the 2006 Winter Olympics. She is a role model for her drive to achieve her best and is passionate in her encouragement to children that “You don’t win races by sitting on the couch!”
