STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

Student Wins the Geological Association of Canada's 2012 Léopold Gélinas Medal

Geology student Steven Flank received the 2012 Léopold Gélinas Medal from the Geological Association of Canada for the best Bachelor of Science thesis written by a Canadian or submitted to a Canadian university. Flank was supported in his thesis work by HTX Minerals Corp., a mining company with interests in Northwestern Ontario.

Exceptional Athletes, Outstanding Teams

Emma Brightwell (wrestling) and Greg Carter (basketball) were named as Lakehead University Female and Male Athletes of the Year. Brightwell went undefeated all season and was crowned national champion of the 82 kg division while Greg Carter led his team to a record best regular season (20-2) and was named CIS Defensive Player of the Year.

In varsity sports at the Thunder Bay campus, Lakehead's Nordic Ski team captured both the men's and women's championship banners at the provincial and national levels. The wrestling team hosted the CIS Championships in Thunder Bay for the second year in a row with Thunderwolves Preston Mikulasik and Emma Brightwell being selected as the male and female Most Outstanding Wrestlers of the championship, respectively.

Recreation, varsity, and athletic club activity at the Orillia campus continues to build with 714 students out of approximately 825 eligible full-time students joining the YMCA of Simcoe/Muskoka. Participation was highest in soccer, floor hockey, and flag football. The Orillia campus varsity curling team competed at the OUA championships in Guelph for the second year and the equestrian team began their first competition season successfully securing ribbons in their first three shows.

Visit the Athletics webpage to learn more about varsity sports at Lakehead.

Business Students Connect with Aboriginal Entrepreneurs

Lakehead's Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE) team was one of six teams to win a prestigious Entrepreneurs First! grant from the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) for a proposal to help Northwestern Ontario Aboriginal entrepreneurs enhance their business skills and stimulate economic growth in Aboriginal communities. SIFE partnered with the Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund to offer programming geared to the needs of existing and prospective Aboriginal businesses.

Graduate Students Receive SSHRC Funding to Pursue Environmental and Social Research

Clinical Psychology PhD candidate Danielle Ransom was awarded $105,000 in Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) funding for her study Utility of Self -Affirmation Theory: Self-Esteem, Body Image, and Individual Personality Characteristics. Gail Kuhl, a Faculty of Education PhD student, also received a SSHRC grant (worth $40,000) for her research project Living Well in a World with Wolves: Investigating the Value of Wolf-Focused Education.

Annual Visual Arts Reception and Awards Presentation a Huge Success

The Thunder Bay Art Gallery was overflowing at the Opening Reception and Awards Presentation of the 2012 Annual Student Juried and Major Studio Exhibitions in March. The Juried Student Exhibition provides all visual arts students with the opportunity to showcase their best work produced during the 2011-2012 academic year. Students participating in this year's Major Studio Exhibition were Cindy Arpin, Ella Bell, Hannah Johnson, Jessica Buzanko, Elizabeth Hoskin, Breanna Bakkelund, Brittany Dupuis, Kathleen Twomey, Ashley Walter, Christina Kehler, Ginnie Culver Antoniazzi, Leanna Rosengren, Sara Eby, Noreen Wilkins, and Aaron Veldstra.

Visit the Visual Arts webpage to learn more about the diverse programs Lakehead offers.

CERAH Supports Students with Early Researcher Awards

Lakehead University's Centre for Education and Research on Aging & Health (CERAH) selected three students to receive individual Early Researcher Awards: Ashley Hope (dog walking as physical activity for older adults), Kathy Kortes-Miller (simulation technology for palliative care education), and Kimberly Ramsbottom (understanding a "good death" from family member and staff perspectives). The awards are valued between $7,000 - $10,000 and help offset research costs.

Fighting Diabetes with Medicine Wheel Teachings

Zsolt Toth, a diabetes dietitian educator and a master of public health student, used his thesis research to develop a Diabetes Wellness Interactive Health Information Tent for Aboriginal people with type 2 diabetes. The tent is based on medicine wheel principles and provides practical information about preventing and treating diabetes. Toth took the tent to powwows throughout Central Ontario last summer.

Biotechnology PhD Students Win Awards at National Conference

Biotechnology PhD students Bill Dew and Ali Azizishirazi won awards for their presentations at the 2011 Aquatic Toxicity Workshop in Winnipeg. Ali Azizishirazi won third place for best student presentation for his talk on the Rapid Olfactory Recovery of Wild Yellow Perch from Metal Contaminated Lakes after Short Term Acclimation to Clean Water. Bill Dew won first place overall for his presentation on Copper, Calcium, and Olfaction in Fathead Minnows: Considerations for a Chemosensory Based Biotic Ligand Model.

Learn more about the Aquatic Toxicity Workshop.

Advocating for First Nations Youth

Lakehead Education student John-Paul Chalykoff traveled to Switzerland this past February to meet with the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child. John-Paul was one of only six First Nations youth delegates from across Canada to be chosen to attend."I'm going to Geneva to address issues with First Nations youth and to implement a positive change so future generations can live life to the fullest without the boundaries," John-Paul said.

Graduate Students Present Papers in South Africa

Faculty of Education master's student Tracy Shields and PhD student Radcliffe Siddo presented two papers co-authored with Lakehead Education Professor Medhat H. Rahim. The students presented their work at the Turning Dreams into Reality: Transformations and Paradigm Shifts in Mathematics Education conference held at Rhodes University, South Africa, in September 2011.

Learn more about Professor Rahim's work.

Northern Ontario School of Medicine Summer Medical Student Awards

The Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM) has awarded eight medical students NOSM Dean's Summer Medical Student Research Awards valued at $6,000 each. This is the seventh year that NOSM has awarded Summer Medical Student Awards to qualifying MD students.

Annual LUNSA Powwow Draws Huge Numbers

The Lakehead University Native Student Association (LUNSA) welcomed hundreds of guests at its annual powwow at the C.J. Sanders Fieldhouse. Through various events and activities offered throughout the year, LUNSA strives to promote spirit and unity among Lakehead's Aboriginal students, and to raise cultural awareness among members of the Lakehead University and Confederation College student communities. The theme "New Beginnings" celebrated a new spring season, new relationships, and new paths," says Nicole McKay, President of LUNSA.

Read more about the LUNSA Powwow.

High School Students Rise to the Challenge at the Science Olympics

The Faculty of Science and Environmental Studies and the Faculty of Education, together with Youth Science Ontario, hosted its second Lakehead University Science Olympics in November. This event increases awareness among high school students about the importance of science in everyday life. More than 90 student participated in the day-long event, representing all seven Thunder Bay high schools (Churchill, Dennis Franklin Cromarty, Hammarskjold, St. Ignatius, St. Patrick, Superior, Westgate), as well as students from Nipigon and Terrace Bay.

Lakehead University 2011-2012 Report to the Community