Naheed Yaqubian (middle), Law '14, with classmates and supporters Joanna Hunt and Ann Clifford at the Tricolour Society reception in the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts.
Naheed Yaqubian (middle), Law '14, with classmates and supporters Joanna Hunt and Ann Clifford at the Tricolour Society reception in the Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts.

Naheed Yaqubian, Law ‘14, is one of five Queen’s students recently inducted into the Tricolour Society during a reception at the new Isabel Bader Centre for the Performing Arts. The Society’s first-ever celebration ahead of new members’ graduation brought together their families and friends to honour the latest winners of the Agnes Benidickson Tricolour Award, the highest tribute paid to students for their distinguished service to the University in non-athletic, extra-curricular activities. Naheed is one of two Law students who will be presented the award at Convocation on June 13. Jillian Burford-Grinnell, Law ‘14 (Artsci ‘08), who earned the honour in 2010-11, is the other.

“I am thrilled,” says Naheed, the 2013-14 Law Students’ Society president. “I've always wanted to be an advocate, and Queen's Law has provided me and my classmates with incredible opportunities and support.”

Naheed, recognized among her peers as a student leader, is an ideal candidate for the award, notes Robert Eisenberg, MPA ‘12/Law ‘14, one of her nominators. “She has made valued contributions to the University as well as the surrounding community,” he says. “Her work as LSS President would alone deserve recognition for the difficult and varying tasks she balanced in the role,” he adds, “but she also spearheaded several initiatives that improved the community and collegiality we experience every day at Queen’s Law.”

As LSS president, Naheed served as the student representative on the Faculty’s Strategic Planning Committee; initiated a student curriculum review to provide the administration with feedback on experiences in first-year skills classes; and led a Diversity Project to examine the experiences of law students from various backgrounds.

Further, she founded the Law Students Society of Ontario, an advocacy group to address more broadly the academic and professional needs of law students in an evolving profession. She also co-founded the Happyness Project, a peer support resource, with Jaclyn Greenberg, Law ‘13.

Asked about her devotion to service, Naheed, who will be articling at Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP in downtown Toronto after graduation and hopes to build a career in litigation, says it’s simple. “I’ve always wanted to be an advocate for other people. That thread of inspiration runs through everything I do.”