During his time at Dawson, Yves-Jusslin Maniratanga has demonstrated strong leadership, contributing much to campus life through his work with the Dawson Student Union (DSU). For him, being granted the Paul Gallagher Award is an honour, and “feels great because it demonstrates the appreciation of the Dawson community,” he said.

Goal-focused mindset

Yves-Jusslin chose to apply to Dawson with the purpose to improve his English and become fully bilingual.  At the time, he considered a business career, for which he deemed that mastering several languages would give him an edge in the job market later on.

“I have always tried to remain committed to achieving several goals,” said Yves-Jusslin. “My first goal was to maintain good grades. To do that, I always tried to reach out to teachers and try to enjoy the process of learning. Thankfully, this contributed to me being able to maintain competitive grades.”

Committed teachers

“I really enjoyed the commitment that teachers had towards ensuring that the students had all the necessary tools to succeed. All of them were always available not only during office hours but were willing to propose other times to accommodate the students. This helped me have a better understanding of the different subjects and also made the process of learning easier and more enjoyable.”

The path to effective leadership

For Yves-Jusslin, being involved in the community and developing authentic leadership qualities has always been a priority.

He has contributed to the creation of meaningful internal initiatives including the financial regulations for the DSU and the creation of the first DSU awards.

He was a member of the Board of Directors of the Dawson Foundation, Vice-President of Finance of DSU, Chair of the Finance Committee, Co-Chair of the DSU Awards Selection Committee, and member of the Budget Consultation Committee.

His extensive involvement confronted him with complex topics regularly which cultivated his profound personal growth.

“Our successful campaigns later gave me the opportunity to advocate on issues touching the Dawson community such as the imposition of Bill 96.”

Engaged learning online and beyond

In her nomination letter, teacher Anjali Choksi describes him as “a self-possessed student with boundless intellectual curiosity,” who “enhances every class that he attends.”

Anjali first taught Yves-Jusslin over Zoom during the fall of 2020, where even through a screen, his presence was felt “in the best possible way.”

“His camera was always on, he answered my questions and asked his own, which helped to advance the learning of others,” wrote Anjali. “Yves-Jusslin has an excellent problem-solving capacity and also the intellectual rigour to deeply analyze ethical theories. When he works in a group in class, he always participates with his cohorts and together they come up with great solutions. He is very good at assessing and using evidence.”

Merging two passions

Yves-Jusslin has been admitted to join the Faculty of Law at McGill in the fall. After university, he is thinking about pursuing his passion for business with an MBA or a degree in economics.