Retail student Cassandra Morton awarded Governor General’s Academic Silver Medal

Congratulations to Retail Management student Cassandra Morton for winning the Governor General’s Academic Silver Medal at Ryerson University.

This medal is awarded to the undergraduate student who achieves the highest academic standing upon graduating from a bachelor degree program and it is one of the most prestigious undergraduate awards at Ryerson.

Morton is one of the top students in the Retail Management program. She has received multiple awards and scholarships and made the Dean’s list four years in a row.

During her time with the Retail program, Morton was a Special Project/Finance Director for the Retail Student Association, leading a team of students to Italy for an experiential learning trip. She also served as the VP-Education for the Corporate Social Responsibility Student Association.

In addition, Morton has been part of Retail Management’s School Council and has contributed to various other projects at the school, such as Open House and the Pop-Up Pilot project. She has taken advantage of other programs outside of Retail as well, such as completing workshops at the Zone Learning Analytics School and acquiring a Chang School certificate in Business Decision Analysis.

“It is exciting to see Cassandra be recognized for this prestigious award,” says Dr. Mark Lee, Director, Retail Management.  “Further to her outstanding GPA, she has provided so many valuable contributions to the school. Notably, she played a significant role in the Retail Student Association experiential retail trip to Italy.”

“As the Merchandising and HR Analytics Intern at H&M, Cassandra facilitated the re-launch of their Internship program,” Dr. Lee adds. “She has also mentored students and has been a role model for her peers. This award celebrates her consistent dedication and heart to our program.”

"This is a completely unexpected honour," says Morton. "I came to the Retail Management program looking to make a career change, and I have to admit that my focus was on finishing the program quickly and building up extracurricular experience rather than on academics."

"Learning is, however, something that I have always loved for its own sake," adds Morton. "Some excellent professors, Jenna Jacobsen, Frances Gunn and Mark Lee among them, made it easier to put in a lot of hard work along the way, and this award is the happy, unintended result of that."

Morton’s Governor General’s Academic Silver Medal and certificate will be presented to her at the Convocation ceremony scheduled for the Fall.