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U of A Students Celebrate Engineering

April 2010

BY JOCELYN WESTWOOD & STEPHANIE DAOUST
APEGGA Student Columnists
University of Alberta

March was National Engineering and Geoscience Month across Canada. Planning an entire month of events, however, would be difficult for the Engineering Students’ Society at the University of Alberta – so instead we hosted National Engineering and Geosciences Week, March 1-5.

Various events were held, including the Communication Breakdown session. It had participants playing with LEGO to build their communication skills, and also featured a debate. Free coffee and doughnuts were served to engineering students.

The week closed with the sixth annual Engineers’ Banquet at Lister Hall. The banquet winds up the week while also giving ESS an opportunity to recognize student volunteers who have gone beyond their commitment to the society, throughout the year.

Awards in three categories were handed out. Coordinator of the Year goes to coordinators who have devoted countless hours putting together events for the society. Associate Vice-President of the Year is another of the three awards. And Golden Geers recognizes graduating students who have made a significant contribution to the engineering community during their time at the U of A.

APEGGA student members who were also winners were

Coordinator of the Year: Alex Inglis, for organizing Country Crusades; Alex Nilson and Nicole Stodola, for planning the U of A Engineering Competition

AVP of the Year: Amanda Schneck, for helping revitalize the monthly engineering publication, The Bridge; Samantha Oler, for organizing Geer Week and acting as head Geer Week judge.

Golden Geers: Jan Badin, Justin Bertagnolli, April Boyko, Stephanie Daoust, Mark Hlady, Alex Inglis, Samantha Oler, Tom Rawson, Heather Speers and Daryl Tran.

Kristen Padget was recognized in the AVP of the Year category for her work as a Geer Week judge.

Competition for the Golden Geers was particularly strong. Winners each contributed in different ways to the engineering community, through ESS, student groups such as the Great Northern Concrete Toboggan Race, or their own initiatives and student groups.

University of Alberta
Geoscience
By Dale R. Nisbet
APEGGA Student Columnist
University of Alberta Geosciences

University of Calgary Geoscience
By Hailey Doley
APEGGA Student Columnist
University of Calgary
Geosciences

UNIVERSITY of Calgary
Engineering
By Emily Marasco
APEGGA Student Columnist University of Calgary Engineering

University of Alberta
Engineering
By Jocelyn Westwood
APEGGA Student Columnist
University of Alberta Engineering

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...story continues below

GETTING THE GEERS
Golden Geer winners are: (back row, from left) April Boyko, Heather Speers, Jan Badin, Daryl Tran, Tom Rawson; (front row) Mark Hlady, Samantha Oler, Stephanie Daoust, and Justin Bertagnolli

Thoughts from a Graduating Engineering Student – Stephanie Daoust

As I write the month of March has just begun and I am well into the final semester of my undergrad degree – a terrifying and exhilarating thought!

Four years ago this time in my life was a glimmer on the horizon, with far too many assignments, midterms and finals between me and graduation day to seem real. However, now that I am finally at this point in my education, graduation day seems to be coming up quite quickly. I am excited at the thought of leaving school behind and continuing on my life’s journey. However, there is a part of me that is starting to get quite nostalgic.

Not that I do not want to graduate. Life is waiting for me out there, and I am excited to meet its challenges head on.

I feel my time at university has prepared me well to venture out into the world and hopefully make my mark. I feel confident with my education and have developed not only the technical skills, but also the necessary social and communication skills to succeed.

As I walk across campus on my way to classes in the morning, I cannot help but remember how tiny and afraid I felt way back in first year. Over the past five years, the U of A has grown to be my second home and I have grown into a more confident young adult.

I have had many wonderful opportunities for self-development and growth, made some amazing friends along the way, and even managed to learn a thing or two. However, soon I am going to have to leave that security blanket behind and venture out in to the real world.

This leaves me with a mixed bag of emotions, as I am sure others have felt at one point or another.

Soon I, along with my fellow graduating students, will go through the Iron Ring ceremony and the Ritual of the Calling of the Engineer, joining countless engineers before us. These are an excellent capstone to a long and sometimes difficult degree.

Some advice to first- and second-year students: do not hesitate about becoming involved on campus! Honestly, some of the best people and friends I have met were through volunteering. Volunteering has been one of the most worthwhile things I have done in my life, besides deciding to get a post-secondary education.

It has opened up a world of opportunity to me, with so many experiences including attending leadership development seminars and engineering competitions. Through these conferences I have made friends across Western Canada. I have many lasting memories and had a blast in the process.

I would be lying if I said that everything always went according to plan. Things definitely did not always work out as I had intended, but I realize now that they were learning experiences and have helped shape me into who I am today. I do not regret one moment of my degree, and I will always look back on my time at the U of A with very fond memories.