Six years ago, I was approached to (re)join Camp 5. Although I initially said no, my two university aged daughters convinced me to change my mind. I said “yes” – at which point I was asked to take on the role of Chief Warden.
What followed has been a bit of a whirlwind. Covid caused the cancellation of our in-person ceremonies for two years. We were tasked with rebuilding the Camp relationships with the local educational and engineering communities. We modernized our administrative systems to add a webpage (and a LinkedIn account), and allow digital payments. We obligated over 7000 candidates in the last 6 years – returning to in-person spring ceremonies at the familiar and beautiful confines of the Queen Elizabeth Theatre while adding a ceremony at the Diamond Family Pavilion at SFU in the fall. We built a team of seven wardens and seven alternate wardens, men and women who are leaders in their engineering fields, who between them have taught or mentored hundreds, if not thousands. We replaced 1000s of lost or wrongly sized rings. We held dozens of information briefings (and served dozens of pizzas to candidates).
We made some mistakes along the way. The transition from remote ceremonies to in-person ceremonies was paved with errors and hand-sanitizer. We mis-pronounced (to our deep regret) indigenous names. We lost replacement rings in the mail. We were late responding to emails.
But we tried our best. Our little team of volunteers. We learned from our mistakes – getting a little better each time. We saw the introduction of a new and updated ceremony, which celebrates the contributions of the wide and diverse engineering community across Canada, and we welcomed guests to witness the ceremony for the first time, moving from a closed ceremony, to one that allows candidates to celebrate with their loved ones.
I have had the privilege of working with amazing colleagues at Camp 5, and meeting the next generation of engineers who will continue to serve Canada. I am confident that they will take their Obligation to heart – that on their honour and cold iron – they will serve responsibly and ethically in this, their chosen profession.
So it is with gratitude that I step down from my role of Chief Warden, after six years, and it is with confidence that I pass the hammer onto @Julia Ni. Thank you all.
Neil K. Hemrajani Singh, P.Eng.
Past Chief Warden Camp 5
I’m honoured and humbled to take on the Chief Warden role for Camp 5. Thank you, Neil, for your exceptional and genuine leadership, and for all honorary wardens for their profound contribution to the community, many of whom have made it a life-long commitment.
I’m excited to take on the torch and continue to collaborate with all my dedicated Camp 5 wardens and alternate wardens, to give back to the engineering community.
As always, if you have any questions, comments, suggestions or ideas, please feel free to reach out to me or the appropriate warden (see Contact Us) and we will do our best to answer (but first check the website to see if the answer is there).
Julia Ni, P.Eng.
Incoming Chief Warden Camp 5
The Wardens of CAMP 5 