J-School student wins the University’s Gold Medal Award
Fourth-year journalism student and gold medal recipient Dania Ali. (Photo courtesy of Dania Ali)
At the convocation ceremony on June 23, the Faculty of Communication and Design presented fourth-year journalism student Dania Ali with the Ryerson Gold Medal Award.
Ali accumulated a long list of achievements during her time at the school; some of which include being a co-founder of TCF Ryerson (external link) , launching the DirtyChai (external link) podcast (which explores the themes of collective South-Asian female experience), and writing an in-depth feature on women in abusive relationships during the pandemic, called ‘Finding Shelter.’ (external link)
“It was an honour to even be nominated,” Ali said, recalling when she found out that she won, “I immediately called my parents, called my family...everybody knew that it was a really special moment.”
The Ryerson University Gold Medal is the university’s highest award. It is presented to students with “outstanding academic achievement,” as well as “extraordinary contributions to the life of the university and/or their professional community and/or the community at large.”
For Ali, her personal achievement from J-school was writing a story about her experience as a survivor.
“It was liberating.” She said, “I’m healing, but through telling the story, and hopefully someone else who reads it may also go on that journey—which was the whole point.”
In Ali’s nomination email, Journalism Interim Co-Chair Asmaa Malik said, “During a time when public trust in the media is wavering, Dania has recognized the need for a more integrative approach to journalism, one that urgently connects audiences to the heart of the story and helps them see how their actions can shape change.”
When asked what this award means to her, Ali answered with a thought-provoking and heartwarming sentiment.
“I’ve always wished I could take the freedoms and privileges I have right now and give it to my mom at that age—when she was my age. Or to my grandma, because they’re people who deserve it.” Ali said. “So it [the award] meant a lot because I was able to give back to the women who...are the reason why I’m sitting here today.”