June 7, 2011
 
Media contact: Anne Russell
Cell: 604-798-3709
Office: 604-795-2826
anne.russell@ufv.ca


Abbotsford’s Melissa Prachnau wins Governor General’s silver medal at UFV

Melissa Prachnau of Abbotsford

Melissa Prachnau of Abbotsford thought that she might be finished with chemistry when she entered her final year of high school. After having aced Chemistry 11, she wasn’t planning on taking Chemistry 12.

Her teacher at Mennonite Educational Institute had other ideas and told her that a student of her calibre had better be signing up for another year.

“I wasn’t going to keep taking chemistry in Grade 12 until my teacher, Mr. Greg Dyck, strongly encouraged me to do so,” says Prachnau.

Her continued success led to her choosing chemistry as a major for her Bachelor of Science degree at the University of the Fraser Valley.

And on June 10, she crossed the stage as the Governor General’s silver medal winner. This award is given to the student graduating from a bachelor’s degree with the top grade point average. Prachnau’s 4.33 GPA over her past 30 credits earned her the distinction. That’s an A+ mark in every course that counted toward the calculation.

Prachnau, who also minored in biology, isn’t completely sure of her future plans, but they include taking the Optometry Admissions Test, with the possibility of enrolling in optometry school at Waterloo University in Ontario. Medical school is another option she is considering.

For now, she’s going to relax, travel, and think about the future after a busy five years at UFV, during which she earned 150 credits, more than the minimum required 120.
Like many UFV students, she valued the small classes and the chance to get to know her professors and fellow students well.

“The professors at UFV are very helpful, and at the upper level in chemistry the classes are very small, so you really get to know them and your fellow students. I’ve met some people who went to the large universities who only knew a couple of the people that they were graduating with. That’s the cool side of UFV – you get to know everybody,” she says.

She also liked that she got to stay local, commuting the four kilometers from her home on a raspberry farm on her scooter or bicycle.

While studying at UFV she got involved in research projects for Dr. Noham Weinberg of the Chemistry department, doing computer modelling of various chemical systems, and even spent a few weeks last summer doing research at the University of Nancy in France.
Prachnau attributes her success to hard work and studying in groups.

“You have to prioritize if you want to do well, and give up or ease up on other things,” she notes. “And studying in groups was very beneficial, especially for the sciences. In biology, studying together helped us all.”

Now that she’s done schooling for the moment, her hobbies such as running, hiking, gardening and plans for travel are getting more attention. She recently finished second in her age group in Abbotsford’s Run for Water.

Her all-time favourite courses were a biochemistry course this past semester that “gave us a good understanding of how the body works,” and a summer course on the plants and animals of British Columbia.

Although she doesn’t see herself becoming a teacher like her sister, she does enjoy developing curriculum for children, and is currently hard at work planning this summer’s UFV Science Rocks daycamps.

“Melissa is extremely reliable, always enthusiastic and just a winner to have on your side! We are so proud to know such amazing people among our student body at UFV,” says Dean of Science Ora Steyn. 

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