Give Them an Inch - Students Will Give a Mile

Nadia Melon, third year physical education, was named the university’s Female Athlete of the Year. As a setter for the Bison women’s volleyball team, Melon has demonstrated excellence both in sport and in her coursework. Included in her list of accolades is the Isbister Award, given to a student-athlete who achieves the faculty’s highest academic standing in all years prior to graduation, and the UMSU Award and Manitoba Scholarship, for excelling both in sports and studies. Melon was also named a Royal Bank CIAU Academic All-Canadian.

Loren Bekeris, a third year civil engineering student, has 18 awards to her credit, and a cumulative grade point average of 4.37. Included in her long list of awards are the Isabel Auld Entrance Scholarship for the top student entering the University of Manitoba, and the Isbister Scholarship in Engineering for the highest standing in the Faculty of Engineering.

Ewa Leligdowicz is the second member of her family to win a $4,500 Leader of Tomorrow Scholarship for students entering the University of Manitoba. Like her sister Aleksandra, who was one of last year’s recipients, Ewa is being recognized for her academic achievements, leadership skills, and school and community involvement.

Emerging from high school with a 100 per cent average, Graham Reynolds was selected for a Leader of Tomorrow Scholarship, an Isabel Auld Entrance Scholarship as well as four other entrance awards totalling $11,900. Balancing his coursework with a passion for music, Reynolds also plays the trombone with the U of M Jazz Orchestra and the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra.

Heather Mueller, pharmacology, received the prestigious 1999 Pfizer Studentship Award for her examination of the role of dietary salt in high blood pressure as it relates to cardiovascular disease. Research in this area is extremely complex because it involves the nervous system, kidney, brain, heart and blood vessels.

Christopher Tysiaczny, Breanne Wright, Elizabeth Cooper, Graham Newton, Chris Wylie and David Grape were all presented with the Queen’s Venture Award by Princess Anne while on her royal visit in July. The award goes to young adults aged 14-18 in the Scouts Canada Venturer Program for their skills in areas such as youth leadership, community service and awareness of world conservation issues.

Seven Manitoba artists of Chinese ancestry, including Edward Cheung from the School of Art, participated in an exhibition that combined elements of Chinese culture and Canadian art and life. His display of work captured a new vision of Chinese women, who have moved from being viewed as subservient to being self-directed and in control.