阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 welcomes orillia’s first full-time graduate 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛

september 22, 2011

sheri o'connor enrolled at lakehead's orillia campus in 2007 with the intention of becoming an elementary school teacher. she graduated in june with first class standing in the honours bachelor of arts and science and bachelor of education programs (hbasc/bed). however, instead of pursuing her teaching goals, as planned, she has returned to 阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 this fall to conduct lake ecology research as part of her graduate studies.

this is a first for the orillia campus. o'connor and fellow student, debbie balika, are the first full-time graduate 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 at the campus. they are both enrolled in the master of science in biology.

for o'connor, the opportunity represents a complete change to her plans. "i thought i had my life planned out nicely - go back to school; become a teacher; and work at the local elementary school in her community of bracebridge. then i came to lakehead and discovered this amazing school and professors and found a new direction for my life."

once enrolled at lakehead, o'connor was attracted to biology courses because of a life-long love of nature and the outdoors. she said that a plant biology course taught by dr. nanda kanavillil, associate professor, biology, in particular, was what started changing her mind about her career. "that course, along with the experience of the interdisciplinary studies program in general, including courses in anthropology, really piqued my interest in research. "

during her undergraduate studies, o'connor got involved with a number of biology research projects, under the supervision of dr. kanavillil and dr. sreekumari kurissery, chair of interdisciplinary studies and associate professor, biology. "sheri's opportunity to do research with us last summer probably transformed her ideas and led to her pursuit of graduate studies," says kanavillil. "i could easily see through the way she approached problems that she had a researcher's mind."

阿根廷vs墨西哥竞猜 president dr. brian stevenson (centre) visits a research site with one of lakehead orillia's first master of science graduate 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 , sheri o'connor, along with her supervisor, dr. nanda kanavillil, associate professor, biology.

last january, o'connor said she made up her mind to "go for it." "doing your master's is a big commitment," she says ­­-- "another two years in school." for o'connor that means juggling the responsibilities of her family, which include three children between the ages of 11 and 18.

"i am only able to do this because of lakehead." o'connor explains that she needs to go to school close to home because of her family, and also credits the unique lakehead experience and personal support from her husband with enabling her to pursue her master's degree. "learning is so personal here; i don't think this would have happened at a larger school. the relationships and professors' willingness to help 世界杯2022赛程表淘汰赛 like myself succeed is really what has made this happen. "without the support of dr. kanavillil and dr. kurissery, i would not be pursuing my master's degree. it was their encouragement and determination that made this work within the university."

"we are extremely happy to make this opportunity available," says kanavillil."we had some challenges to achieving our graduate study program here at the orillia campus, but the administration and decision makers, both here, and in thunder bay, were very cooperative in helping us get the program running."

"this is just the beginning," says kanavillil. "i'm sure this will have a lasting impact over the next few years, as we develop further research opportunities here at the orillia campus."

as o'connor embarks on her studies, she is excited about her paleolimnology research project. "paleolimnology is the study of past aquatic environments," explains o'connor. "the purpose of my research is to determine how the shoreline wetlands of lake simcoe have changed over time with increased human populations."o'connor will be taking sediment samples from the victoria point wetland area in orillia and other lake simcoe locations to help her to reconstruct the aquatic environment and determine the impact of human influences. "if we know the history of the area and understand how the shoreline has changed, we will be able to develop more precise management targets and restoration objectives. without knowing what the area was like before [human influences], we don't know what it should be like."

o'connor also points out that even though the phosphorus levels in the lake are being reduced, the reduction is occurring in the basin or middle of the lake. "unfortunately, levels appear to be very high in the near shore environment. at victoria point, the levels are substantially higher than levels recorded in the basin."

as far as o'connor knows, this is the first time such a study has been done along the shoreline of lake simcoe. "sheri's research is definitely filling a gap," notes kanavillil, "and i'm confident that her studies will produce new, important data."

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