June 12, 2009
Media contact: Anne Russell
Cell: 604-798-3709
Office: 604-795-2826
anne.russell@ufv.ca
“Time and effort” key to success for UFV silver medalist Leandra Quiring
| |
 |
|
Leandra Quiring |
|
|
There’s no magic route to the top academic spot at UFV, according to Leandra Quiring, this year’s winner of the Governor General’s academic silver medal.
This award is given to the graduating student with the highest grade point average at the bachelor’s degree level.
Quiring, who is graduating with a Bachelor of Science (major in biology and minor in chemistry) says it’s all about “time and effort.”
“I put a lot of time and effort into my studies,” she notes, “and once I got to know the other students, we spent a lot of time together in study groups. I also think it’s important to go see your professors and ask questions, because they really do care and take the time to help you.”
Quiring, who graduated from Mennonite Educational Institute in Abbotsford, initially came to UFV because it was close to home and she wanted to stay in contact with family and friends.
“I’d heard that it was a good school and that the classes were small.”
She started in general studies, but took to the sciences quickly after taking a couple of introductory courses.
One of UFV’s strengths is the opportunity to engage in research that it offers to undergraduate students, and Quiring took advantage of that.
“I got to spend much more time in the lab than I ever expected to and that was very interesting,” she notes.
This past year, as part of a directed studies course, she acted as a research assistant to chemistry professor David Fenske on a project that looked at liposomes and compared various drug-loading techniques.
“I have had Leandra in three upper-level courses and she was my top student in each of them,” notes Fenske. “She is an amazing student, who not only always gets A+’s, but does so with percentages that are awfully close to 100%. This past fall, I was starting up a research program here at UFV, continuing work I had done at UBC, and was looking for students who might be interested. The program involves developing and characterizing liposomal drug delivery systems, artificial lipid-based particles used mostly in the treatment of cancer. I was very fortunate that Leandra was interested in this field of research, and was willing to work with me as a research assistant.”
Fenske is confident that Quiring will succeed in whatever career she chooses to pursue.
“Leandra has all the makings of an excellent researcher: she is skilled in the lab, learns concepts and techniques quickly, understands the problems we are trying to solve, and gets involved in proposing new experiments. She works well individually and as part of a group, and is truly a pleasure to work with. For someone so gifted academically, she is an amazingly down-to-earth person, without a trace of the ‘driven, type-A’ personality you might expect of high achievers. Although she has not yet decided what to do after graduating, it is clear that she will excel in academia or medicine or any career path she chooses to pursue, and will be an excellent ambassador for UFV wherever she goes.”
Quiring was also a member of the Biology and Chemistry Students Association while at UFV.
As for her future, she’s interested in graduate school and a career in medical research, but she’s planning to work for the next year to consider her options, as well as volunteer overseas in Cambodia.
-30-
