Lassonde student receives 2024 Bergeron Medal

This story originally appeared in YFile

Each year, the Bergeron Entrepreneurs in Science & Technology (BEST) program at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering awards the Bergeron Medal to top graduating students, recognizing their outstanding entrepreneurial achievements throughout their time at the school. This year, Reza Mirhadi was honoured with the award.

A top mechanical engineering student who consistently placed in the top 10 per cent of students on the Dean’s Honour Roll list and was named a Lassonde Scholar, Mirhadi received the Bergeron Medal in recognition of his exceptional entrepreneurial achievements. During his time at Lassonde, he completed the BEST Certificate in Technology Entrepreneurship and won the BEST Technology Impact Award – which honours inventiveness in addressing societal issues – for a modular smart home project. He also excelled at a range of startup pitch competitions, including the BEST Startup Experience and the York Engineering Competition.

In addition to his entrepreneurial success, Mirhadi proved himself in leadership roles, contributing as a mentor and moderator in BEST Experiential Education activities – including UNHack – and representing Lassonde in the 2022-2023 Impact Report. He served, too, as the academic advocacy director for the Lassonde Engineering Society.

Beyond the walls of York University, Mirhadi’s professional achievements include a research and development role at Hatch – a company that supplies engineering and construction consultation to the mining, metallurgical, energy and infrastructure sectors ­– where he led presentations for over 350 people. He also worked as a project manager and mechanical designer at AFA Systems, a packaging automation systems company, where he completed four projects. Mirhadi’s own entrepreneurial venture, Simple Swim School, has received support from the Vaughan Summer Company Program.