A positive climate for learning
When Tanya Graham started university eight years after leaving CEGEP, she didn’t even know what area she wanted to study.
Now she’s earned a BSc with Honours in Environmental Science along with the Governor General’s Academic Silver Medal, given to the graduating bachelor’s-degree-level student with the highest marks.
“My goal wasn’t to win a medal. My goal was to learn as much as I could learn in order to make the most of my university experience and to do the best that I could do,” says Graham. “It is definitely an honour, but I could never have done it on my own.”
She credits the support of people at Concordia, from professors and peers to staff in Counselling and Development, as among those who made her achievement possible. Indeed, she chose the university because it allowed people like her, who’d been out of school for a while, to find their feet as independent students and explore options across programs.
It was a geography class that ultimately captured her imagination.
“I really wanted to learn about how nature works,” says Graham, who switched to the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment. “It is a fascinating program. We learn about water, climate, forestry, geology, ecology, as well as environmental issues associated with each of these.”
Her honours research was a global evaluation that will provide conservationists with an estimate of the magnitude of climatic changes that primates will face. This type of analysis hasn’t been done before, Graham says.
“Tanya is an exceptional student, the best I have ever taught or supervised, and she certainly deserves the recognition,” says Damon Matthews, Concordia University Research Chair in Climate Science and Sustainability and an associate professor in the Department of Geography, Planning and Environment. “She works hard, sets high standards on her work and consequently produces consistent excellent results.”
Graham also managed to fit in part-time work at Concordia, facilitating tutorial sessions for an introductory geography course, and to volunteer as a teaching assistant for English as a Second Language classes. She found that helping others refreshed her mentally and spiritually and renewed her energy for her own studies. It was a good lesson in life balance.
Graham, who’d like to pursue a master’s degree, learned some other important lessons during her time at the university: “Don’t underestimate yourself and what you are capable of. Take advantage of every opportunity, even if you are scared to death about it.”
Related links:
• Department of Geography, Planning and Environment
• Governor General’s Academic Awards