“So special”: Harnarayan Singh is first South Asian to receive honorary degree from MRU
Harnarayan Singh has a new nickname.
“Doc.”
Singh, the popular Sportsnet and Hockey Night in Canada play-by-play caller, received an Honorary Doctor of Laws on June 1 from Mount Royal University in Calgary, becoming the first South Asian, Sikh, or Punjabi person to receive such a degree at the school.
“This was really, really special…to receive an Honorary Doctorate of Laws degree from my alma mater, Mount Royal University, where I went to school for Broadcasting back in the day,” Singh wrote in an Instagram post.
“I wasn’t able to attend the convocation as I was blessed to be calling the Eastern Conference Final for Sportsnet but I still was able to give a speech via video…and it was cool to explain to the graduates that I wasn’t there in person, because I was literally living my dream!”
So special to receive an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from @mountroyal4u as my family values education so much. My folks came to AB in the mid 60s cause of a demand for teachers & overcame a ton of challenges.
What a journey it's been so far! @MRUAlumni
Thank you so much!🙏🏾 https://t.co/Ib1n945rkf
— Harnarayan | IceSingh (@IceSinghHNIC) June 1, 2022
Singh, an alumnus of Mount Royal’s broadcasting program, is also the first person of South Asian descent to call an NHL play-by-play in English, doing so in 2021.
“I just want to be able to provide hope and inspiration to others out there that this door is now open and everybody should be and are welcome now to be a part of mainstream media,” Singh said, according to the school’s website.
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His Honorary Doctor of Laws achievement is just the latest in a long list of accolades for the media personality.
Singh was named the winner of the 2021 Peace Patron Award by the Mosaic Institute in May 2021 and is a recipient of the Meritorious Service Medal by the Governor-General of Canada. He is also the winner of the 2018 Brian Williams Media Award.
He’s also an author. Singh published a memoir, titled One Game at a Time, detailing his early life in Brooks, Alberta and broadcasting career, in September of 2020.
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