Hello! My name is McKenzie and I am a third-year biomedical engineering student studying at the University of Victoria. Throughout my schooling I have enjoyed extra curriculars with an environmental focus including the Environmental Club at Bonnyville Centralized High School (BCHS) and the University of Victoria Environmental Engineering Club (UVEEC). Through the Environmental Club I ran and promoted electronic recycling drives, built a medicine wheel garden at the front of BCHS, and attended Envirothon 2022. In UVEEC, I am collaborating on the design of an underwater glider to collect conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) data in the Saanich Inlet. I work on the electrical team within the club, designing essential glider components.
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| Figure 1. Visiting the Victoria Bug Zoo and getting a "hands-on" visit with a well-behaved Madagascar hissing cockroach. |
Outside of school, I enjoy
backpacking, art, and relaxing outdoors. Growing up in the M.D of Bonnyville,
AB, instilled my love of nature. In the spring and summer, I would be
surrounded by fireweed, paintbrushes, wood lilies, and dogwood; all of these
flowers inspire my present art. The wildlife around my home was also very
impactful to me. My favorite insect is the Canadian Tiger Swallowtail. As a
child I would often see them around my house in the spring. I enjoyed their
bright colouration and frequent visits to my butterfly garden. As I became
older, I started backpacking in the Canadian Rockies. My visits to Alstones Lake, Jasper National Park,
and Kootenay National Park made me fall in love with the mountains and realise that
ecosystems like
these need to be closely monitored and
maintained to minimize human and pest impact.
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| Figure 2. McKenzie enjoying time with their barn-cat-turned-indoor pet named Silver. |
