Everyday Heroes for May 2025
Mohawk Everyday Hero awards are regularly given out to college faculty and staff who go above and beyond to make Mohawk an even better place to work. Know someone who works at Mohawk and makes a difference? Submit a Mohawk Everyday Hero nomination at www.mohawkcollege.ca/everydayhero.
Congratulations to the following recipients:
For going above and beyond to support students, Director of Student Experience & Global Engagement Francesca Hernandez is a Mohawk College Everyday Hero.
As an example of her dedication, one day after regular hours, Francesca recognized that a student in the hallway was in need of support. Francesca stopped and talked to the student, learning they were in need of food, while also facing family and financial challenges. Addressing each need, Francesca provided some food essentials, listened to their family struggles and offered support, encouraging the student to reconcile with their parent. In doing so, the student not only felt safe, but they were able to have confidence to advocate for themselves. Four months later, the student came forward and thanked Francesca for stopping in the hallway to chat with them that day. In this one moment and her work every day, Francesca inspires her team and co-workers with her kindness and generosity, motivating and inspiring empathy in others.
Congratulations Francesca!
For keeping projects organized and always looking for better solutions, Marketing Traffic Coordinator Cindy LeBlanc is a Mohawk College Everyday Hero.
As an example of her dedication, Cindy advocates on behalf of her colleagues when facing issues with the Marketing ticketing system, Optimizely. She has gone above and beyond to ensure the company provides satisfactory solutions to issues that the team may be facing with the platform. She is a wealth of knowledge and is a great person to go to for advice when starting a project. She asks great questions and thinks about different scenarios for executing the project in the best way possible. She handles any potential roadblocks with clarity and ease, whilst keeping projects on track.
Congratulations Cindy!
For going above and beyond to support her team, Special Events and Office Assistant Jacqueline Stillman is a Mohawk College Everyday Hero.
Jacqueline strives to integrate an understanding of big picture strategies and goals, and is always eager to try something new, especially if it benefits the Mohawk community. Jacqueline is dedicated to improving the college’s event registration process, making it as easy as possible for community members, students, employees and partners to sign up to participate in events and initiatives. Her team often refers to her as the “JACQUELINE of all trades” for her extensive knowledge of college systems and processes. She always finds the positive in unpleasant situations and is constantly making those around her laugh with her incredible sense of humour. Jacqueline strongly believes that those you surround yourself with make all aspects of your life better.
Congratulations Jacqueline!
For his calm professionalism and dedication to capturing moments, Photographer and Videographer Josh McGurk is a Mohawk College Everyday Hero.
Josh works everywhere across the college supporting the college mission, communications and celebrations. Whether the silent photographer or videographer in a busy crowd, or talking 1:1 with nervous subjects in his reassuring and calm way, he does it all with ease and professionalism. He never makes the work about him; he is always focused on others. Josh has supported the Indigenous Student Services department and done stellar work on many special events, student interviews and Pathfinder Youth Camp stories, taking professional student headshots for LinkedIn profiles and shooting and editing a Trafficking Awareness video that is already attracting kudos and appreciation across the country and within the sector. Josh has proven to be a great ally and friend to Indigenous Student Services team.
Congratulations Josh!