Year: 4
Stream of study: Regular
Career goal: Eventually, I would like to become a commercial pilot.
I work as a part-time employee at the W-Store and I am also a volunteer Teaching Assistant for aviation ground school. There aren't any other clubs I'm currently in but I would like to join an intramural volleyball team in the winter!
Year: 4
Stream of study: Co-op
Favourite co-op: Working at a small planning, urban design, and landscape architecture consultancy firm in Downtown Toronto. The firm consists of 12 full-time staff members so we were a very tight-knit group. This has been my favourite co-op experience because of the positive/fun work culture and the ability to interact with my co-workers every day in the office.
Year: 2
Stream of study: Regular
Career goal: Find a unique field that I'm able to apply my skill set within. Currently, I'm exploring the huge field of law and legal studies, and I'm confident that my degree, Honours Knowledge Integration and Joint Legal Studies, will help me prepare for this path.
Nominated the top Geography and Aviation student in 2016, Chelsea-Anne was an excellent candidate for the Alumni Gold Medal. She performed extremely well academically in her classes as well as at the Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre. On the most advanced Transport Canada examination in the program, she earned the highest score not only in her class, but in the history of University of Waterloo Aviation.
Nominated for the Alumni Gold Medal, Jinny graduated with the highest overall grade average in the Planning program. She achieved her high marks while also working to finance her education independently through part-time jobs, research positions and co-op terms, and still found time to volunteer in the community.
As her professors have noted, “Jinny just makes things happen:”
Professors have described Sarah as “an exceptional student” who “constantly displayed the desire to learn”. An Alumni Gold Medal Award nominee, she represents the multidisciplinary Knowledge Integration program very well, earning minors in Applied Language Studies and Psychology as well as a certificate in French language.
Some of her many accomplishments include:
The 2016 Faculty of Environment Alumni Gold Medal was awarded to Zinnie Cowing, graduating from the Geography and Environmental Management program (GEM). Presenting the award, Dean Jean Andrey recalled that among all the applications, Zinnie’s stood out because her experience “was so multifaceted”, from her academic achievements and research success to her experience in the workplace and volunteering.
Emma is graduating with an impressive 90.83% average, a vast amount of environmental work experience and a positive impact on many people she has crossed paths with. For her fourth-year capstone project, Emma and her group worked with the Hillside Music Festival in Guelph, Ontario developing a marketing plan including extensive data collection and environmental research.
“His deep commitment and drive for acquiring knowledge in his studies is admirable, since he views aviation not only as work, but as a way of life”, Dr. Su-Yin Tan describes Eric Chang after years of being his professor at the University of Waterloo. Eric’s work ethic and positive attitude towards life has been his constant motivator throughout school, and he is graduating with an impressive 86.68% cumulative average.
Jacob chose the International Development program because he wanted to use his knowledge and training to help those who lack the resources he has. “Quietly thoughtful and reflective, Jacob’s humility and depth can command a room,” one professor comments. During his eight-month-international-placement, Jacob worked at the National Youth Council of Malawi in the Research and Evaluation department, where he monthly and quarterly reports for the Council.
With an outstanding overall average of 90.4% and an impressive thesis about the application of computer science to the challenges in agriculture, it is clear that Jillian Anderson, Knowledge Integration's top academic achiever this year, is a remarkable student with a striking intellect.
Jonathan initially considered pursuing studies in computer science and environmental issues separately, so was pleased to find a program that combined both passions. Graduating with the highest average in Geomatics this year, he was also known by his professors for having the best co-op reports every term (winning the Faculty of Environment Work Term Report Award three times) and for his ability to bridge academic and professional work.
Joseph was the top Environment and Resources Studies student in his year, graduating with an average of 89%. Due to his high marks in Chinese Language Studies, Joseph was awarded the Study in China Scholarship by the Confucius Institute; in 2015, he spent the summer studying the Chinese language and culture at Nanjing University in China. As a well-rounded scholar, Joseph even led a project studying the effects of business incubation on sustainable development for the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs during
Earning a final average of 89.9%, Environment and Business’ top student in 2016 Kristopher Kolenc genuinely enjoyed his studies. For his 4th year capstone project, his team worked with Oxford Properties, a global real estate investment and development company, to determine best practices for sustainability engagement of its 3,300 shopping centre tenants across Canada.
Samantha’s scholarly success shines through her impressive 93.53% cumulative average in Geography and Environmental Management, while her work-ethic and passion is evident in her community involvement, work abroad and extensive environmental advocacy. During her years as a Waterloo student, Samantha was a teaching assistant for two courses, an Environment and Visitor’s Centre ambassador, and an international peer mentor.
“Incredibly bright and a gifted, emerging scholar” is how her professors describe Sara Ganowski, the Environment, Resource and Sustainability top-graduating student this year. Graduating with a joint honours degree in both ERS and Speech Communicaation, a final average of 88.8%, and a wide range of skills from environmental research to communication and critical thinking, Sara’s interdisciplinary approach to complex issues is surely impressive.
Year: 4
Stream of study: Regular
Career goal: Airline Pilot
Year: 3
Stream of study: Co-op
Favourite co-op: Working at Brookfield Renewable as an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Intern because I got to dive deeper into corporate greenhouse gas reporting which is one of my areas of interest.
Year: 4
Stream of study: Co-op
Favourite co-op: My second placement with the EDI-R office on campus. I worked as the educational programming assistant, and because, at the time, the team was still small, I could sit in on meetings and understand how projects are implanted at an institutional level.
Year: 4
Stream of study: Co-op
Favourite co-op: Skyjack was an amazing experience for me as I fit right in with the culture and got along with everyone. The work I did there was interesting and I had the freedom to help with the projects I wanted to help with.
Year: 3
Stream of study: Co-op
I chose to study at the Faculty of Environment at Waterloo because it is the largest Faculty of Environment in Canada, and Waterloo is known for its innovation and technology and creation of new and exciting ideas.
Year: 4
Stream of study: Regular
Career goal: My end career goal is to work at a major airline, but I am really excited in the potential adventure to get there, which could have me instructing, flying in Northern Canada, or helping to operate Med Evac (air ambulance)!
Global Water Future
Year: 3
Stream of study: Co-op
Favourite co-op: My favorite co-op job would be working with the York Region Transportation Asset Management team. For a beginning placement, I had the opportunity to develop valuable industry skills while working under a supportive team with substantive expertise in their fields.
Year: 4
Stream of study: Co-op
Favourite co-op: Land Development Planning Student for Drewlo Holdings Inc. This was my favourite co-op job as I was given the opportunity to explore the residential development industry in Ontario.
Year: 2
Stream of study: Co-op
Year: Graudate
Stream of study: Co-op
Year: 2
Stream of study: Regular
Career goal: I hope to be able to pursue a design specialization and also improve my knowledge of transit systems, innovative technology and learn more about how planning can be a catalyst for creating livable, inclusive and proactive cities.
Year: 3
Stream of study: Co-op
Year: 3
Stream of study: Co-op
Favourite co-op: Working with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) in the Environmental Protection Operations Directorate. It has been my favourite job as I have always wanted to work with ECCC and I enjoy working towards getting people to comply with Canadian policies that help protect the environment and human health.
Year: 3
Stream of study: Co-op
Favourite co-op: I was a Student Engagement Intern at an impact investing firm based in Toronto, ON. I loved the job for a variety of reasons: values alignment, work-life balance, and the nature of the work I was doing.
Net-Zero Electric Training Aircraft
Year: 3
Stream of study: Co-op
Favourite co-op: Working as the Business Development Manager at Stormflow Surfacing. Stormflow Surfacing is a start-up that uses recycled tires to create driveways and help solve stormwater runoff issues.
Year: 3
Stream of study: Co-op
Favourite co-op: My first co-op, at the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology, was such a great experience! All my coworkers were extremely helpful and encouraging, and they made an effort to match me with projects linked to my program and interests.
Year: 2
Stream of study: Co-op
I am on the Varsity Figure Skating Team! While being a student athlete requires good time management, being on a team has helped me meet new people and stay active.
Year: 3
Stream of study: Co-op
Career goal: I would love to work as a Sustainable Development Officer one day.
Year: 4
Stream of study: Co-op
Favourite co-op: Agroclimate Analyst for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. I not only ended up falling in love with GIS even more, I saw the importance of monitoring drought as it affected agricultural output in the Prairies and Canada by extension.
Year: 2
Stream of study: Co-op
Favourite co-op: Even though I have only had one non-co-op internship, even that was immensely fulfilling. In my time working for the WCRI student housing co-operative, I learned a lot about organizational structure and the value of initiative.
Year: 4
Stream of study: Regular
Career goal: I hope to one day be flying with a commercial airline either as a First Officer or a Captain (preferably with WestJet!!).
Year: 2
Stream of study: Co-op
Career goal: My career goal is to work as a transportation planner or with GIS. I was able to work at the Ministry of Environment this summer, outside of co-op, and it was a great experience just being exposed to working in the government.
Year: 4
Stream of study: Co-op
Favourite co-op: I got to work out in Saskatchewan, banding, surveying and observing shorebird and waterbird species. I was hired by Environment and Climate Change Canada to work with my supervisors, graduate students at the University of Saskatchewan. I had been wanting to work a full-time field job, and this was exactly the position.