Carleton alumna Erica Cherney was presented with Carleton’s Humanitarian of the Year Alumni award on Sept. 19.
Created in 2012 to commemorate Carleton’s 70th anniversary, the Humanitarian Award is given to individuals who have done exemplary volunteer service that has improved the lives of others in Canada or abroad.
Cheney, now 83, said she was “overwhelmed and surprised” when she was told she would be receiving the award.
“I haven’t been involved with Carleton for 65 years. I’m mostly known for working with Trent University,” Cherney said.
“It was very touching to receive this award. Humanitarian work is it’s own category—it’s saying that I’ve made an impact with human beings, which means so much more than saying I’ve simply been successful or got good grades in university,” she added.
Cherney graduated from Carleton in 1952 with a bachelor’s degree in commerce. She said a lot has changed about Carleton since she was a student.
“When I went there it was a small brick building that was about three floors. Today it has become a massive, beautiful campus,” Cherney said.
Cherney said the best advice she got was from the registrar’s office, who advised her to go into commerce because she was good in math.
“Everywhere I’ve gone in my life, that degree has gotten me jobs,” Cherney said. “Not as many girls went to university back then and the ones that did went into mostly art degrees. I owe a lot to the registration that told me to go into commerce.”
After graduating, Cherney began doing volunteer work. She received an honorary degree from Trent University in 2005 and sits on several boards. Cherney has also donated to causes such as the Calendar Girls fundraiser that raised $200,000 to help families affected by the July 2004 flood in Peterborough.
Cherney said she was most proud of bringing attention to the Community Counselling and Resource Centre (CCRC), a centre that offers counselling and occasional loans to those in need, and later lending her name to the centre to start the Erica Cherney Fund. The fund is now valued at nearly $100,000.
“I thought, ‘here is the best kept secret for those in need,’ but it shouldn’t be a secret for all the help it provides,” she said.
