[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/fisher.jpg” caption=”Kyla Fisher is one of three winners of the $10,000 Vale Inco Undergraduate Scholarship from the Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation. “]Kyla Fisher was days away from boarding a plane to volunteer in Ghana when she received the news: she was one of three recipients of the inaugural Vale Inco Undergraduate Scholarship from the Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation (CEMF) and would be receiving $10,000.

Fisher, a second year engineering student at McMaster University, is enrolled in the water and environment stream of civil engineering. Heavily involved in extracurricular activities, she is a member of the Hamilton chapter of Engineers Without Borders (EWB) and is active in organizing the EWB's popular high-school outreach program. She was also chosen as an EWB Junior Fellow, which means working in Ghana this summer.

One of the scholarship perks that Fisher had to pass up because of her work was being flown by Vale Inco to the CEMF Annual Awards Luncheon, held in Montreal, to receive her award. For Fisher, however, it was a small sacrifice to make. Having landed in Ghana on May 13, she was focused on working with the local government in the northern Gushiegu District for the next three and a half months.

“My job is to help improve planning processes and data management at the district level with the aim of improving the Gushiegu District's ability to effectively deliver infrastructure to the area,” writes Fisher in her blog. “This is part of EWB's larger strategy working with the government in northern Ghana called the 'Governance and Rural Infrastructure' program. I find the program really interesting and I can't wait to see how it works in Ghana.”

The Vale Inco Scholarship Program with the Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation was introduced this year to recognize women in university undergraduate engineering programs who serve as role models for younger women.

Scholarship criteria for the 2010 Vale Inco Undergraduate Scholarships will be posted in July 2009. The deadline for submissions is January 8, 2010. Click here for more information.