Discovery Centre Director Alan Steele and Provost and Vice-President (Academic) Jerry Tomberlin presented nine undergraduate Carleton students with Provost Scholar Awards on Monday, April 8.
Funded by the Office of the Provost and Vice-President (Academic) and administered by the Discovery Centre for Undergraduate Research and Engagement, the Provost Scholar Award recognizes exceptional student accomplishments.
The Provost Scholar Award is valued at $1,000 and is given to undergraduate students who have demonstrated outstanding achievements in research, community engagement, immersive learning and/or international activities.
The Peter J. Ricketts Outstanding Provost Scholar Award was established this year and is given to an outstanding recipient of the Provost Scholar Award. The award is named for Peter J. Ricketts, who served as the Provost and Vice-President (Academic) at Carleton for eight years. The inaugural Peter J. Ricketts Outstanding Provost Scholar Award, worth an additional $1,000, was presented to Mohamed Hozayen.
Congratulations to the recipients of the 2019 Provost Scholar Awards:
Alaa is a fourth-year Child Studies student with a Minor in Psychology. She was the only undergraduate student to present her thesis work at the Migration and Diaspora Student Research conference, which was recently hosted at Carleton. Later this month, Alaa will travel to the National Conference on Undergraduate Research at Kennesaw State University, where she will present her paper, which is already gaining recognition both locally and internationally even before it has been published. Alaa’s thesis research involved communication with the local Carleton District Board of Education. This led to an invitation from Maria Teresa Garcia, Director of the Multicultural Liaison Officer Program at the Ottawa Community Immigration Services Organization, to participate in a regional Education Sector Table Meeting where all local school boards were represented. Alaa’s groundbreaking research involved events with the Catholic Centre for Immigrants and Services for Syrian Refugees program and the Ottawa Chinese Community Services Centre. Alaa’s work is already making a contribution to local discussions about the lived school experiences of Syrian refugee students.
Julianne is a fourth-year Psychology student with a Minor in Indigenous Studies. Julianne is carrying out a senior thesis project examining the wellbeing of Indigenous students in post-secondary institutions, which is necessary and timely work. Its applications have far-reaching implications and impacts for Carleton’s growing Indigenous student body and Indigenous students across Canada. She is a substitute teacher at Maniwaki Woodland School, a youth worker with the Maniwaki Native Friendship Centre, and a Life Skills Teacher with Kitigan Zibi Kikinamadinan. Julianne is an impressive student whose presence at Carleton is crucial to building relationships and approaches that ensure that Carleton is better equipped to meet its responsibilities to Algonquin people in this territory. Julianne is described as a leader whose work is rigorous, creative, reciprocal, and thoughtful. She is direct, insightful, and deeply respectful of her peers.
MacKenzie is a third-year Biomedical and Mechanical Engineering student. She has been working as an I-CUREUS student and she plans to rejoin Prof. Petel’s lab in Summer 2019 as an NSERC USRA. MacKenzie is now working on her own research project, which has been integral to many aspects of the lab’s operation. She is currently involved in writing a manuscript for submission to the Nature Communications journal covering our cutting-edge research into helmet performance and concussion evaluation. This level of contribution to lab research is highly unusual for an undergraduate student and speaks to MacKenzie’s qualities as a developing researcher. MacKenzie raised money to subsidize youth outdoor education programs in 2017 and has volunteered on campus to offer peer support. MacKenzie has proven herself to be a dependable and diligent researcher.
Mohamed is a fourth-year Computer Systems Engineering student who has been on the Dean’s Honour List since 2015 and has engaged in undergraduate research through an NSERC USRA and through the I-CUREUS program since 2016. His research experience has led to four publications, including one journal paper in the prestigious IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, and two conference papers in the IEEE International Symposium on Medical Measurements and Applications. It is extremely rare for an undergraduate student to have this many published papers, especially including an IEEE transactions paper. He also contributed as an instructor for an Enrichment Mini-Courses Program offering on biomedical engineering in 2017. Last year, Mohamed was selected to represent Carleton at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research in Oklahoma City and received the Manimaran Kanagasabapathy Memorial Scholarship, which is awarded annually to an outstanding Computer Systems Engineering student. Mohamed is also a student athlete for the Raven’s competitive rugby team and a notetaker volunteer for the Paul Menton Centre. He worked as a lifeguard and swimming instructor for the City of Ottawa for two years. Mohamed is an all-star student who is described as enthusiastic, honest, dependable, detail oriented, the perfect employee and a team player.
Zaynab is a third-year Social Work student with Minors in Disability Studies and Philosophy who works as a Research Assistant with the Geography and Cartography Research Centre and with Prof. Redmond on Colour Commentary. She serves as Lead Researcher on two of her own projects and heads a research partnership with Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization. She works as a Disabilities Counselor at Andrew Fleck Children’s Services and as a Metacognitive Educational Student Support Facilitator with Carleton’s Paul Menton Centre. She is also the Membership and Communications Officer for Youth in Care Canada and the President of Carleton’s Social Workers of Colour Association. She is also a Student Navigator at Elisabeth Gruyere Hospital, an Achievement Center Youth Mentor, and a Youth Coordinator with the Findlay Creek Community Centre. She devotes a lot of time and energy to supporting community organizations committed to social justice. Zaynab is described as a true scholar who devotes her time and effort to making Carleton and Ottawa a better place to work and live. She has a deep intellect and a natural curiosity, which she applies to societal justice and social work practice debates in the classroom.
Allysa is a fourth-year student in Criminology and Criminal Justice with a stellar track record, having received many academic accolades during her undergraduate career. Allysa’s diligence and commitment to the Prof. Brown’s research lab is described as unparalleled in comparison to a typical volunteer. As a result, Allysa is third author on a manuscript that is currently under review. She is extremely passionate and focused in her chosen area of future research, which is understanding why women paradoxically join the alt right movement. Allysa has completed a student placement at Correctional Service Canada and has worked at Youth in Care Canada. She has devoted considerable time in the community working as a Victim Support Worker with Ottawa Victim Services. Allysa is an intelligent student who is a quick learner and is exceedingly capable of grasping complex scientific literature. She is described as pleasant, professional and well-grounded. She excels at her academics and has considerable experience as a teaching assistant.
Rebecca is a fourth-year Neuroscience and Mental Health student with a Minor in Psychology who excels as an undergraduate researcher and who has made significant contributions towards the research and service community at Carleton. After volunteering in the Chee lab for six months, Rebecca became part of a team that generated sufficient data for presentation at the Society for Neuroscience conference, the most renowned international neuroscience conference. The organizing committee for the Young Researchers Conference featured Rebecca’s work as an oral presentation, which was given a Viewer’s Choice award. She has volunteered for the Carleton University Student Emergency Response Team for the past three years. She placed first in two separate national Campus First Response competitions and received the Responder of the Year award last year. Rebecca also volunteers at the Civic Hospital where she serves as a simulated patient for the Trauma Evaluation and Management program. Rebecca is an outstanding student who is intelligent, focused, and committed to serving those in need. She is described as a humble leader who leads by action and who is unreserved in sharing her knowledge and time.
Kayla is a fourth-year Neuroscience and Mental Health student with a Minor in Chemistry. She is a staunch supporter of mental health advocacy. Her efforts and dedication toward her academics, research direction, and community are proactive mechanisms for her to make a significant difference. Kayla presented her work at the Society for Neuroscience conference, the most renowned international neuroscience conference. She was awarded the Viewer’s Choice award for her oral research presentation at the Young Researchers Conference in Ottawa, and she will represent Carleton at the National Conference for Undergraduate Research this spring. She is on the organizing committee for the annual Brain and Mental Health Art Show, and is a volunteer for the Brain Awareness Week and Carleton’s Student Alliance for Mental Health. Kayla is a high-achieving student who is described as innovative, generous, and resilient, and as someone who approaches her work with purpose and conducts herself with utmost professionalism.
Gemma is a fourth-year Commerce student who has worked alongside an experienced Sprott researcher where she improved her critical thinking and analytical skills, as well as her ability to thematically summarize various literatures. Her research involved examining the utility and relevance of applying theory developed in the entrepreneurship domain to a particular management context, which was later presented at a conference in the Cayman Islands. Gemma was then accepted into the I-CUREUS program where she had the opportunity to continue her research. Based on her outstanding academic performance, Gemma has been selected as a Golden Key International Honour Society member to travel to Australia or China as a member of the International Scholar Laureate Program Delegation on Business & Entrepreneurship.