After a seven-month selection process and two rounds of interviews, a student in the Faculty of Science at the University of Waterloo was selected for the prestigious McCall MacBain Scholarship
Sarah Rourke, who will graduate this spring with a Bachelor of Science, will pursue a master’s degree in physics at McGill University. She is among 30 students from 10 countries selected for these awards worth more than $3.3 million combined. The awards were created with a generous gift of $200 million from John and Marcy McCall MacBain. Rourke is the second Waterloo student so honoured. The first was Nathan Duarte (BSc ’21), who studied biomedical engineering at Waterloo, and is about to graduate from McGill with a master’s in electrical engineering.
“It is really empowering and motivating me for the next part of my journey,” Rourke said. “I’m excited for my master’s, and I know it will be challenging, but to be rewarded like this for all the hard work throughout my undergrad really does motivate me to keep working hard.”
The McCall MacBain Scholarship includes a leadership development program that gives students access to mentorship and coaching as they pursue a fully funded master’s or professional degree at McGill.
“I might not need to T.A. as much as I would have, so I’ll have more time for my classes, more time to get into the lab, and to get involved at McGill, but also Montreal and the community,” Rourke said. “Having this financial compensation just makes it so much easier to have more time in the day to go out and work hard and get things done. It’s such a great opportunity.”
Rourke plans to get involved with the EDI committee at her new university. She currently leads FemPhys, a feminist student club located in Waterloo’s Department of Physics and Astronomy. The group paused during the height of the pandemic, but she revived it and is recruiting students to keep it going after she leaves Waterloo.
“Sarah made many contributions while studying at Waterloo — in the classroom and lab, on co-op jobs, and in her community,” said Dr. Brian McNamara, chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Waterloo. “I’m delighted for her to have this wonderful opportunity and look forward to following her success.”
This is the first year of global admissions for the scholarship. Students and graduates from more than 1,200 post-secondary institutions competed. More than 280 members of the community assisted in the selection of scholars.
“Sarah’s selection is a tribute to the time and energy she has put into improving the lives of others,” said Natasha Sawh, dean of the McCall MacBain Scholarships. “Our volunteers looked not only for academic strength, but for leadership qualities like integrity, kindness, grit, and an ability to motivate a team to address tough challenges.”
Rourke, who has a minor in fine arts, will study particle physics in graduate school. She decided on her focus during her final co-op work term, which took place at SNOLAB, the underground laboratory specializing in astroparticle physics. She served on its EDI council while there.
“It came at the perfect time because I knew I had always been interested in that area of physics, but then after going there and getting to work in it I knew that I wanted to continue with it in grad school,” she said. “I've learned through my co-ops that I work very hands on and the lab is where I produce the best work. I'm excited for this next chapter.”
There are smaller entrance awards to top candidates not selected for this year’s cohort, including two from Waterloo. Snit Abrha (Dipl’22) and Benjamin Easton (BA’22) both received $5,000, which they can use to study at any public university in the country.
