During the annual Forces Avenir gala held in Quebec City on Wednesday Sept. 27, three Champlain Saint-Lambert student groups were honoured in front of other exceptional Cegep students, faculty and staff.

Students from Champlain’s Mental Health Crew, Diversity of Arts and the Palestine Struggle Mission were selected as finalists in the provincial prize.

The Diversity of Arts event took home the trophy in the category of Arts, Letters and Culture. 2023 graduate Mahé Rabesa spoke as the representative of the project and described its scope and impact within the college community.

Diversity of Arts was an event held last year to celebrate different art forms including music, visual arts and more by inviting established artists to campus to speak about their artistic mediums. Rabesa appeared at the event virtually to do an interview and several members of the organizing team were in Quebec City to accept the award onstage.

At the gala, Cegep students were celebrated for their engagement in projects that impacted their colleges in a variety of different ways including raising awareness about mental health challenges, environmental initiatives and global citizenship projects.

At the gala, students from across the province were celebrated for their achievements and contributions.

Dariana Balti and Rama Al Malah spoke eloquently and did a fantastic job representing their projects. They didn’t take home a trophy but they made Champlain proud!

Students representing the three projects were invited to take part in live, online interviews last spring where they answered questions about the projects and their impact within the campus community.

Last year, Champlain brought home a Forces Avenir award recognizing the work of the Black Lives Allyship Mission (BLAM) and a Champlain graduate won the Persevering Student award in the individual category.

Congrats to all the provincial finalists and to the local award winners who received their Forces Avenir awards at the Student Engagement Gala last spring.