Walter LaPlante, a recent recipient of St. Clair College's Alumni of Distinction Award, has a new honour to add to his resume: the 2025 Premier's Award in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Innovation.
LaPlante graduated from the Mechanical Engineering Technology -- Mechatronics program in 2009. Since then, he has furthered his education at McMaster University, the University of New Brunswick, and Wayne State University.
He began his career at the Ford Motor Company in Michigan in 2014 as a production supervisor. As a Deaf leader, he has focused on technological innovation to improve product quality at 20 manufacturing plants worldwide.
He developed MAIVS, a mobile vision system that uses artificial intelligence to find manufacturing defects in real time, and he's won multiple awards for his work.
"St. Clair College gave me the opportunity to learn and helped me understand the choice I need to make in my career path," said LaPlante. "Because of the applied, hands-on learning, it really opened my eyes and helped me decide my future path. I would not be where I am today if it weren't for St. Clair College."
A tireless advocate for the Deaf community, LaPlante helped bring about state legislation in Michigan giving parents of young children with hearing loss more education on sign language and language acquisition.
"The most valuable lessons, I believe, are often the ones learned in the real world -- the perseverance you've built, the friendships you forged, the understanding and knowledge you've gained are your true compass," added LaPlante.
LaPlante's Premier's Award is the first time a St.Clair College graduate has received the honour for STEM, and the first St. Clair alumnus to receive the award since 2004.
"Walter is being recognized not only for his innovative contributions as an automotive engineer, but also for his advocacy in support of education for the hearing-impaired," said St. Clair College President Michael Silvaggi. "He exemplifies the well-rounded values we strive to instill in our graduates: using both professional expertise and community-mindedness to make a meaningful impact."
The Premier's Awards will be presented at a special event in Toronto on November 24.
