From the Nominator

"The 2021 Alumni Awards of Excellence was created during the pandemic, a time of social restrictions and Zoom fatigue. Although we could not hold in-person events, our alumni were still doing incredible work within the community, which we felt needed to be shared and celebrated. 

For the success of any event during this time, we knew we had to avoid platforms like Zoom and come up with a new approach. That is how the Alumni Awards Late Night Talk Show was born. The idea was that, although people might not be as interested in joining a Zoom call, they were still streaming interesting content. So, we produced a live, one-hour televised talk show with a local production company in their studio. The event included an engaging opening monologue by Mo Amir (the host of the local podcast This is Vancolour), a musical performance, and an inspirational discussion with our incredible alumni, who shared their passions and advice.  

We promoted the event via a series of emails to alumni, social media posts, and sponsored ads in a local community newspaper. The results were beyond what we could have imagined. Our alumni and community members were impressed by our innovation, and we increased our viewership throughout the night from social media engagement. Our award recipients felt like celebrities for a day, which evoked pride and a stronger connection to CapU that led them to become first-time donors to the institution."

From the Judges

The 2021 Alumni Awards of Excellence: Late Night Talk Show was a true pivot. Capilano University, like others, could not hold in-person events during the pandemic. Instead of delaying the annual alumni awards or adding to Zoom fatigue, they created a talk show format to share and celebrate the incredible work their alumni were still doing in their community. We enjoyed Capilano’s innovative thinking—looking to what is popular in other areas and bringing that into the alumni world.