Students who are making a difference

University education is about more than simply transferring knowledge to fresh, open-minded students. It’s about inspiring them to think critically and creatively, so they can fuel social change, innovation, economic growth and productivity. At SFU, students expand their classroom learning through hands-on research, co-op positions, volunteer service, semesters in dialogue and international exchange—gaining the experience to put their ideas into action to better the world.

Meet some SFU students and alumni who are using their education to improve our communities.

Quality of life

With support from the Kaiser Foundation for Higher Education, SFU undergraduate Shuo Samuel Liu and four classmates developed a very low-cost, truly mobile, eye-tracking system that enables totally paralyzed ALS patients to communicate. PhD student KJ Lee is also interested in helping the disabled to communicate better. He is adapting work in three-dimensional facial animation to teach autistic children how to better read people’s expressions.

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Hearts and minds

As one of two 2008 National Co-op Students of the Year, SFU molecular biology and biochemistry undergraduate Katelyn Mueller conducted research on some of Canada’s most widespread illnesses while increasing the value of her 4.16 cumulative GPA and getting paid. Her co-op position allowed her to work on cancer treatment development at the Biology III Institute at Germany’s University of Freiburg, study ways of reducing heart transplant rejection at St. Paul’s Hospital and help advance research on heart disease at Merck Frosst.

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Catalyst for change

Fourth-year business/anthropology student Sean Peters is helping third-world entrepreneurs and their families escape poverty. As founder of the SFU chapter of Agents for Change and the organizer of a micro-credit fundraising competition, he inspired fellow business students to raise $6000 and use it to make loans to entrepreneurs in the developing world.

Full story: [ 1 ]  /  globalafc.org

Live your dream

2006 BBA graduate Terry Beech is on a mission to help others achieve their dreams. He and his twin brother, Doug, have created Twinbro.com, which through seminars, workshops and social media strategies, inspires students to pursue their goals, teaches strategies for improving scholarship and admissions applications and encourages leadership. Terry is also completing his MBA at Oxford University.

More: twinbro.com

Film festival feature

Fourth-year film student Tony Massil claimed a spot on the silver screen at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival. His short film ‘Forty Men for the Yukon’ was selected from an international field of competitors. Massil completed the film, which tells the story of two long-time Yukoners, as part of his SFU Contemporary Arts graduation requirements. This is the second time in three years a film produced by a fourth-year SFU student was shown in the world’s second largest film festival (after Cannes).

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As a place to study, SFU is top rate. Maclean's magazine's 2008 overall rankings put SFU in a first-place tie among Canada's comprehensive universities.

Fulbright award recipient

Rhiannon Coppin, who graduated from SFU engineering in 2004, is a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright award. She will use the $15,000 award, which was created to encourage international exchange, towards graduate study in journalism at Columbia University in New York. Although her initial interest was in biomedical engineering, she was drawn to journalism during her final year at SFU, when she participated in the university’s undergraduate semester in dialogue.

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Athletics champions

Third-year Clan athletes Arjan Bhullar and Robyn Buna — the 2009 Lorne Davies Male and Female Athletes of the Year — have each helped their teams win CIS national championships this year: Bhullar in wrestling and Buna in basketball.

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Up Next: Research that matters