Presidential honours for Ben O’Connor – “a selfless and fearless leader”
Ben O’Connor has never shied away from being in the centre of the action. It’s being the centre of attention that’s the problem.
He was the star wide receiver on his high school football team in Kingston, Ontario. He was the rookie who played the game of his life and made a crucial catch that helped the Marauders football team win its first ever national title in 2011 (TSN called the 47th Vanier Cup the best game ever). And today, Ben’s the Acting Assistant Dean in the Office of Undergraduate Studies in the Faculty of Science – McMaster’s largest Faculty with nearly 8,300 undergrads.
His leadership in the office and commitment to students earned Ben a nomination for a President’s Award for Outstanding Service. He was slighted mortified when Associate Dean Rosa da Silva broke the news. If he could choose between being nominated for an award or having root canal without freezing, Ben would make himself comfortable in the dentist’s chair.
He might not enjoy awards and accolades but Rosa says the recognition’s overdue and well-deserved. “He’s one of the most selfless yet fearless leaders I’ve had the pleasure of working with. Ben constantly backs away from ever taking credit for anything, often insisting it was a team effort.” It hasn’t escaped Rosa’s attention that Ben quietly elevates and empowers everyone around him.
Withdrawing the award nomination crossed Ben’s mind but he knew his coworkers had put time and effort into pulling it together and winning the award would mean a lot to the office and the Faculty of Science. If he won, he’d accept it on their behalf.
And that’s what he’s going to do during the May 30th award ceremony. Ben’s one of 10 employees and three teams from across the University to receive a 2023 President’s Award for Outstanding Service. One of his colleagues – Sam Couch, Program Manager with Science Career and Co-operative Education – also won the award. Unlike Sam, Ben’s been a nervous wreck leading up to the award presentation. The thought of being on stage while Rosa sings his praises in front of a crowd makes him visibly uncomfortable.
Ben reluctantly agreed to sit down for an interview to talk about winning the award and have his picture taken. While heading out the door for the photo, a student walked into the office.
Ben could’ve let someone else on the team help the student. But Ben instinctively stopped, solved the student’s problem and wrote down his contact info in case the student had follow-up questions. Ben also gave the student his full and undivided attention for the entire conversation – something he’d been trained to do on his very first day on the job. For those three minutes, nothing was more important than helping the student. “You need to keep students’ needs at the heart of all you do,” says Ben. “If you stray from that for even just one student, you’re doing them a disservice.”
Ben joined the office in 2016 as an academic support associate. He thought he’d only be there for three months to cover an emergency leave. He’s never left and has done every job in the office.
The best part of his job? The office gives Ben a vantage point that’s unique in the Faculty of Science – he gets to watch the students’ entire journey at McMaster. Recruitment’s his favourite leg of that journey – “students are so excited to be going to university and hoping to an offer from Mac”. And watching those students walk across the stage at Convocation with their promise realized and potential unlocked is always an emotional moment.
Ben says he’s grateful to work with a great team and an ever-changing crew of students who work as front-desk navigators, tour guides and ambassadors at Faculty of Science events. “Every time we put out a call for help, students are there and ready to go. They love sharing what they know with prospective students. You couldn’t ask for better recruiters.”
And Ben knows he’s lucked out with a series of mentors who’ve had his back and given him room to grow. “There’s too many people to name,” says Ben although Mic Farquharson, Sarah Robinson, Rosa and Maureen MacDonald get special mention. “Mic gave me my start, Sarah gave me the freedom to run with it, Rosa’s taken the office to a whole other level and Maureen’s set the bar when it comes to putting students first.”
The past year’s brought a lot of uncertainty and fiscal challenges for the Faculty, McMaster and universities across the province, says Rosa. “Ben’s unwavering calm and supportive leadership has been one of the constants in that storm. We are so lucky to have had Ben as part of our Science team over all these years.”
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