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> Nanaimo native surfing an award wave
Nanaimo native surfing an award wave
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June 4, 2002
Dawn Mackey has been riding a wave of good news this semester. First, the 23-year-old kinesiology graduand received word that she’d won two prestigious—and lucrative—prizes: a Julie Payette/Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada scholarship, and a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research masters trainee award. A few weeks later, she learned her perfect grade point average had earned her SFU’s top undergraduate award, the Governor General’s silver medal.
The Nanaimo, BC native credits "the total support and encouragement of family, friends, and teachers" for her academic success. She also acknowledges SFU’s "excellent co-op program" for steering her toward graduate school: "In particular, my third co-op placement, at the University of Queensland in Australia helped me realize how much I enjoyed research, and was an incredible growth experience for me personally." She urges other students to consider the benefits of a co-op degree, noting that "it might take a little longer, but the opportunity to discover what you like and don’t like in a career and to build professional contacts is more than worth it."
Mackey says she has "always worked to promote health and well-being," and imagines a career where she can help shape public health policy. In the meantime, she will begin graduate studies at SFU this fall, focusing her research on fall prevention in the elderly. "I love the student lifestyle," she laughs. "SFU is such a warm and welcoming environment. Where else can you be stuck on a hill with thousands of other people who share your passions and interests?"
30
(digital photo available)
CONTACT
Marianne Meadahl/Julie Ovenall-Carter, Media & PR, 604.291.4323
The Nanaimo, BC native credits "the total support and encouragement of family, friends, and teachers" for her academic success. She also acknowledges SFU’s "excellent co-op program" for steering her toward graduate school: "In particular, my third co-op placement, at the University of Queensland in Australia helped me realize how much I enjoyed research, and was an incredible growth experience for me personally." She urges other students to consider the benefits of a co-op degree, noting that "it might take a little longer, but the opportunity to discover what you like and don’t like in a career and to build professional contacts is more than worth it."
Mackey says she has "always worked to promote health and well-being," and imagines a career where she can help shape public health policy. In the meantime, she will begin graduate studies at SFU this fall, focusing her research on fall prevention in the elderly. "I love the student lifestyle," she laughs. "SFU is such a warm and welcoming environment. Where else can you be stuck on a hill with thousands of other people who share your passions and interests?"
30
(digital photo available)
CONTACT
Marianne Meadahl/Julie Ovenall-Carter, Media & PR, 604.291.4323