SAIT Alumni Awards
SAIT’s Alumni Family members — a network of more than 265,000 strong — are community builders, innovators, and leaders in their industries. SAIT is proud to recognize graduates who are making an impact in the community, on the national stage and worldwide through the Alumni Awards.
This year's SAIT Alumni Awards recipients are all well versed in the power of story!
Linda Olsen
2022 Distinguished Alumna recipient
Linda Olsen is an award-winning news anchor, reporter and producer born and raised in Calgary. For the past 34 years, she has built a career dedicated to local news, helping walk Calgarians through their city’s most interesting, challenging and significant events. She is a champion for her community, lending her voice to several charitable organizations and sharing stories of inspirational community builders, particularly women. For 15 years, she hosted and produced Global’s Woman of Vision series — fitting for someone so clearly focused on and committed to being of service to her city.
Cinema, Television, Stage and Radio Arts '88
Anchor, Global News
SAIT's Distinguished Alumni
See all our Distinguished Alumni award recipients dating back to 1988.
Kyle Bukauskas
2022 Outstanding Young Alumnus Award recipient
The ink was barely dry on Kyle Bukauskas’s diploma when he headed to Toronto to begin his broadcasting career with Sportsnet. In the nine years since, he has been humanizing hockey, reporting rinkside at NHL games as a correspondent for the Ottawa Senators before becoming the on-ice reporter for the Montreal Canadiens. In 10-second increments, he helps players share stories that capture the emotion behind and dedication to the game they — and Kyle — love. And he helps today’s SAIT students, making sure to visit classes whenever he’s in town to cover the Calgary Flames.
Radio, Television and Broadcast News '13
Sports Reporter, Rogers Sportsnet
Madeleine MacDonald
2022 Outstanding Young Alumna Award recipient
Madeleine MacDonald won’t hazard a guess at how many cocktails she created while working as beverage director for leading restaurants over the past nine years. But if her 50 notebooks of ideas and inspiration are any indication, it’s a lot. And the fact she’s participated in at least the same number of competitions — winning many of them — should tell you she’s pretty good at it. Today she combines those skills with her passion for building an even better hospitality industry and brings them to every class she teaches in SAIT’s Hospitality Management program.
Food and Beverage Service Instructor, School of Hospitality and Tourism, SAIT
SAIT's Outstanding Young Alumni
See our previous award recipients dating back to 2009.
2022 Alumni Awards nominations
Nominations for the 2022 SAIT Alumni Awards are now closed.
SAIT’s Alumni Awards celebrate graduates of distinction — trailblazers in industry who invest in their community and continue to support SAIT. Alumni are honoured in two categories: The Distinguished Alumni Award (DA) and the Outstanding Young Alumni Award (OYA).
Nomination criteria
Distinguished Alumni Award
Established in 1988, the Distinguished Alumni Award recognizes a SAIT graduate who demonstrates:
- proven leadership skills
- exceptional achievements in business or industry
- outstanding contributions to the community
- a history of support for SAIT
Outstanding Young Alumni Award
Established in 2009, the Outstanding Young Alumni Award recognizes a SAIT graduate who:
- has graduated from SAIT in the last 10 years and is 35 years or younger
- has proven leadership skills
- exhibits exceptional achievements in their field of endeavour
- demonstrates outstanding contributions to the community