KELOWNA, B.C. - Last week's UBC Okanagan convocation ceremonies were extra special for two former members of the UBCO Heat as men's soccer player Jacob Sol and women's cross country runner Joanna Fear (née Brown) were honoured by their respective faculties.

Sol, who crossed the stage to pick up his Bachelor of Applied Science in Civil Engineering Friday afternoon not only picked up his parchment, but also received the 2024 Gordon Springate Sr. Award.

The Dr. Gordon Springate Sr. Award in Engineering is presented annually to an engineering graduate who has demonstrated a material contribution to their community outside of their program. The $15,000 award—the single largest donor-funded award for an undergraduate student at UBC Okanagan—is named for Dr. Gordon Springate Sr., a mechanical engineering and educator committed to giving back to his field and his community.

True to the intentions of the award, Sol's time at UBC has been spent making an impact.

During his first semester at UBCO in fall 2020—a time when the world was grappling with COVID-19—Sol was laser-focused on another threat to the globe.

"It dawned on me early in my studies that stormwater contamination is a hugely significant environmental issue, both in our local communities and worldwide. With our water systems being so precious in the Okanagan, and all over the world, I saw there was a need and a way for me to make a positive impact," explains Sol, who credits his father for inspiring him to take an interest in the ocean and aquatic environments from a young age.

Along with two other students he met in first year, Sol created a company which developed a smart integrated stormwater decontamination and flood monitoring device which allows for real-time data collection and informed decision making. The team would go on to work with a number of community partners, including the Okanagan Basin Water Board and the City of Kelowna. In June 2020, Jacob's team presented its idea in the final AquaHacking pitch competition and was awarded second place in Western Canada.

Along the way, Sol balanced keeping the research project afloat while maintaining outstanding grades and being a member of the UBCO Heat men's soccer team.

"It's not always easy juggling everything, but my time at UBCO has been rewarding because I've had these opportunities to get involved outside the classroom," says Sol. "I'm very proud I've been able to make a difference and I hope through my graduate studies I'll be able to continue to build on the idea."

Sol will be using the award as he enters graduate studies at the Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) in the Netherlands.

"The opportunity to study at TU Delft is life-changing. I'm incredibly grateful to the Springate family for this support, which is helping to make my dream possible."

On Thursday, Fear earned her Bachelor of Science degree and was also named winner of the Pushor Mitchell LLP Gold Medal Leadership Prize—one of the highest awards available for a student in the Irving K. Barber Faculty of Sciences.

For more than 15 years, the $10,000 prize has recognized a top graduating student who has excelled academically and shown leadership while earning their degree. Fear has done that and a bit more—she is also one of Canada's top female triathletes and competed for Canada at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 before retiring from the sport. She also represented the Heat for her final two years of eligibility, earning All-Canadian honours twice and helping the Heat win two Canada West silver medals.

"I want to thank the people who helped to get me to UBCO after the Tokyo Olympics. Coach Malindi Elmore was an incredible mentor as I navigated retirement from a sport that I had done full-time for over a decade," says Fear.

Fear, who has been accepted to the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University, was surprised when she heard she had won the award. The support provided by this award will allow her to move begin her medical training this September.

"I am truly honoured at having been selected, and I will continue to be a leader both on and off the field of play," she adds. "I feel deeply privileged to have won this award and I hope to make the UBCO community proud."