St. Clair Announces Alumni Of Distinction Recipients

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St. Clair college has announced the six recipients of this year’s St. Clair College Alumni of Distinction awards.

“About ten months after its original scheduling, it is a true pleasure to be taking part in the on-line version of this celebration of brilliance and community service,” said St. Clair College President Patti France. “The biographies of the 2021 recipients of the Alumni of Distinction honour one of St. Clair’s most prestigious awards, attest to the fact that life is an amazing adventure and that one never truly knows where an education and career path may lead.”

The recipients are:

• Will Bigelow, a 2006 graduate of Animation Tradigital
• Dave Merheje, a Business Marketing graduate in 2003
• Flora DiMenna, a 1980 graduate in Interior Design
• Lori Kempe, a 1991 graduate of the Sign Language Interpreter, deaf studies, program
• Anita Riccio-Spagnuolo, a 1999 Personal Support Worker graduate
• Elizabeth Moses, who graduated from CNC Precision Metal cutting in 2017 and Pre-Apprenticeship General Machinist in 2019

More about each:

Bigelow, a concept artist with Baron Championship Rings, found his niche with the Windsor-based ring and jewelry manufacturer. He began nine years ago as a Graphic Designer and has since been promoted to Technical Art Director. He was instrumental in designing the iconic rings that were made for the Toronto Raptors after the team’s NBA championship win in 2019. The rings were the subject of media attention throughout the world for their eye-popping design and creative craftsmanship.

Merheje is currently a costar on Ramy, an American comedy-drama streaming television series on the Hulu network. Dave, who won a Juno Award in 2019 for Comedy Album of the year, is considered to be one of the most original stand-up acts on the comedy scene today. He has been recognized for several comedy awards and has made appearances on Comedy Network’s Match Game, MTV Live and CBC. His comedy special, Beautifully Manic, can be seen on Netflix as part of the Comedians of the World.

DiMenna, President and principle designer of Toronto-based FDM Designs, has received numerous awards around the world for her luxurious interior designs. She garnered an award for Best International Design at the International Interior Design Awards 2017 held in London, England. She was the “World’s Best” interior designer in the same competition held in 2016 and has a number of other accolades for excellence in her lavish interior designs for luxury residences, model homes and suites, corporate offices and public spaces.

Kempe, Executive Director of Children First, strives to make a difference in the lives of children and pursues a vision in which they are healthy, safe and able to achieve their goals. Skilled in nonprofit organizations, coaching, government, program evaluation and volunteer management, Kempe is a strong business development professional. She has worked within many agencies including Community Living Essex County, Chatham-Kent Children’s Services, Ministry of Community and Social Services and as a social worker with the Windsor-Essex Children’s Aid Society.

Riccio-Spagnuolo, the coordinator of fund development/mental health promotion with the Canadian Mental Health Association, was elected in 2018 as a town councillor in LaSalle. She was the director of fundraising for Harmony in Action for five years, having achieved success in raising $300,000 to build an accessible playground for the agency’s clients. She is a childhood cancer survivor, who beat terminal Stage 4 cancer. With her second chance at life, Riccio-Spagnuolo wanted to give back to others and make Windsor-Essex a better place. She has served on the T2B Action Committee for 15 years and with the help of her family, she has organized a gala for the past eight years in Amherstburg to help find a cure for cancer.

Moses was recognized nationally by the Women’s Executive Network (WXN) as one of the Top 100 Most Powerful Women in the Skilled Trades. Presently Elizabeth works as a machinist apprentice at Harbour Technologies. As a recent graduate, she completed her pre-apprenticeship in precision metal cutting at St. Clair College in 2016, later graduating from the general machinist program in 2019. She has been described as a trailblazer for women in the trades and is a mentor for young women with WEST of Winsor and WE Tech Alliance. Born in a refugee camp in Sudan, Moses moved to Canada at age 5. In high school, Moses was inadvertently placed in a woodworking class, but her teacher recognized her technical potential and encouraged her to join the school’s robotics team. She soon realized that she enjoyed machining and making parts for the robot. Moses relishes being a role model for other young women and she is interested in supporting young women who may be unsure about their future.