University of Alberta Edmonton, Canada 10 January 1997

Siblings win cash awards

Engineering student receives Provincial Persons Case Scholarship

By David Holehouse

A Sherwood Park brother and sister have quite a bit in common: they both study engineering, they're both enrolled at the University of Alberta, and they've both won sizeable cash prizes for their efforts.

Susan Boratynec won a Provincial Persons Case scholarship worth $1,000. The scholarships were awarded to 18 individuals across Alberta whose studies will ultimately contribute to the advancement of women, or who are studying in fields where members of their gender are traditionally few in number.

Boratynec said the scholarships recognize people who serve as positive role models for others considering career paths that run counter to traditional patterns. She believes she was a contender because of her enrolment in engineering, where about 80 per cent of the students are male.

She also wrote a convincing essay for the adjudicators, telling them: "I firmly uphold that individuals ought to be judged by their intellectual ability and not on the basis of their gender, socio-economic status, racial or cultural origins. I will endeavor to be a strong role model and, in a significant way, contribute to the enhancement of women in engineering."

Her brother Dennis, meanwhile, picked up a cheque for $2,500 from Janet Jumaga, manager of the Bank of Montreal's Windsor Park branch, after winning one of five grand prizes in a national Bank of Montreal/Much Music draw.

Dennis said he'd already spent the money, on a home computer that will give him faster service and freedom from line-ups to use University machines. He obtained his BSc last year and has now embarked on his Master's in geo-environmental engineering. "The biggest thing I ever won before was a set of golf balls," the happy student told Ms Jumaga.

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