(October 27, 2022) - Laurentian University looks forward to celebrating a new cohort of graduates at the upcoming fall convocation. Ceremonies will be held on Saturday, October 29th at 10:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. to commemorate the achievements of nearly four hundred graduating students. For those who are unable to attend in-person, the ceremonies will be live streamed on laurentian.ca.
Twinkle Arora is one of these graduates, eager to travel north with her family from her home community in Toronto (ON) to attend convocation. She recently defended her thesis, “Finding friends in fiction: Fan writing, parasocial interactions and social belongingness,” a study that she describes “explored how creative writing impacts social functioning by way of parasocial interactions, or in other words, one-sided imaginary connections with media/textual characters.”
Dr. Arora will obtain her PhD Human Studies and Interdisciplinarity.
“I am driven by my love of research and the wish to contribute to the broader sphere of knowledge,” she described. “My supervisors, Drs. Parveen Nangia, Hoi Cheu and Cynthia Whissell, have been instrumental in the successful completion of my doctoral degree. I can’t thank them enough for their continued mentorship and encouragement. I am also extremely grateful for my friends, peers and professors at LU whom I shared my academic journey with. The culmination of my studies brings me great joy, and I look forward to sharing my skills with the real world. I will cherish the plethora of good memories that I cultivated at Laurentian University.”
Connor Smith, from Red Lake (ON) is another fall graduate. He first attended Laurentian in 2016 to obtain his Bachelor of Architectural Studies in 2020. He has now completed the requirements of his Masters in Architecture.
“Growing up in remote Northwestern Ontario, architecture never really held meaning because the majority of the buildings constructed were built cheaply and end with the absence of creativity. It wasn't until high school that my perspective changed… I chose Laurentian University to allow for a more hands-on creation process with design-build. I'm excited to finish my degree and complete my architectural requirements to become a licensed architect in Ontario to help the people of Northwestern Ontario in the remote areas in which I grew up,” contemplated Smith about the completion of his degree.
Congratulations to all graduates, and best of luck in your future endeavors.
Learn more about convocation ceremonies and get to know other graduates on https://laurentian.ca/alumni/convocation.