Seneca Alumni

We couldn’t be any more #SenecaProud of Mina Sandiford Day.

Oct. 24, 2021

Ms. Sandiford Day is a 2020 graduate of Seneca’s Civil Engineering Technology program. During her time at Seneca, she was a dedicated and engaged student and was honoured with the Seneca Cup, our highest award for graduating students. Ms. Sandiford Day is an incredible activist for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), advocating for queer and trans representation in the science, engineering, technology and math (STEM) field and creating programming focused on women in engineering.

It’s fitting, then, that she should be the first to set up a financial aid award dedicated to supporting members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community. Her Seneca experience inspired her to set up the award.

”There is a 2SLGBTQ+ community at Seneca, pride clubs and equity-based student groups, but the community can only get you so far,” Ms. Sandiford Day said. “There has to be structural assistance for equity-deserving students, too.”

Having two work terms during her program, Ms. Sandiford Day experienced the challenges that being queer and trans in the construction industry can bring, but her work-integrated learning experience was transformative.

“I knew I would face barriers to employment so I wanted the work experience provided by my co-op to help me get my foot in the door,” she said.

Ms. Sandiford Day is now firmly established in her field, having joined the Ontario Ministry of Transportation as a senior designer in April and working towards her Bachelor of Technology in Civil Engineering Infrastructure Technology at McMaster University.

One of the three pillars of Au Large, our vision for a renewed Seneca, is to build the equitable Seneca. The Advancement & Alumni team’s role in that commitment is to create financial aid opportunities to support equity-deserving students. Awards like Ms. Sandiford Day’s are vital if we are to realize our objective.

“The Seneca community spoke with one voice in our reflections on how we as an institution could contribute to building a world free of racism and discrimination,” President David Agnew said. "We heard that words are not enough — action is required.”

Seneca has made a significant and permanent investment dedicated to building the equitable Seneca by creating The Jane Fund, a first-of-its-kind $12-million endowment dedicated to funding financial aid and programming to support equity-deserving students.

"The Jane Fund will be a permanent legacy and we invite like-minded individuals, corporations and organizations to join us in supporting student-focused EDI initiatives," President Agnew said. "This will allow us to reach deeper into target communities and provide meaningful and sustainable support to many more students."

We hope that more alumni will follow Ms. Sandiford Day’s example and contribute to EDI initiatives at Seneca.

“Financial aid can help to offset the impact of barriers that equity-deserving students face,” Ms. Sandiford Day said. “It also lets students who may be feeling isolated and alone know that somebody cares about their education.”

To make a donation to Seneca’s EDI Fund or to learn more about supporting students from equity-deserving groups, visit senecapolytechnic.ca/donate-edi.