Daily News

McMaster recognizes scholar athletes

McMaster presented the Marauder Scholar Awards to the top McMaster scholar-athletes at the eighth annual Marauder Scholar Brunch Sunday. The Marauder Scholar Award is presented on an annual basis to student-athletes who have achieved a minimal sessional average of 9.5 (80 per cent) over 24 units while competing for a varsity or club team during the school year. The recipient of the Dr. Mary Keyes award for the Top Female Marauder Scholar was Lulu Bursztyn, a fourth-year chemical engineering student and member of the McMaster women's wrestling team. The winner of the Dr. Jack Kennedy award for the Top Male Marauder Scholar was Jonathan Little, a third-year kinesiology student and co-captain of the McMaster cross country and middle distance track team.

Posted on June 4: Julie Payette on working and living in space

Julie Payette knows she has a cool job. As an astronaut, she's one of a select group of people who get to see earth from space. And to her, that's one of the greatest things about space exploration. "As far as I'm concerned, the greatest privilege we get from working in space is we are able to bring back pictures of earth," she says. Payette offered a first-hand account of her experiences with the Canadian Space Agency and on the Space Shuttle Discovery mission, during a talk hosted by the Faculty of Engineering Thursday. She displayed several images of earth from space, including the Northern Lights, the Grand Canyon, Mount Everest, forest fires, land clearings and New York during the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. "If everyone could go up and see the earth from up there, I think we would treat the planet a little better."

Posted on June 3: Science student wins Governor General’s Academic Medal

She has the highest grade point average of any student graduating from McMaster this week. For earning a cumulative average of 11.9 out of a possible 12 points, McMaster science student Lydia Zanon will receive the 2004 Governor General's Academic Medal, a prize awarded to a graduating student who achieves the highest academic standing in his/her undergraduate degree program. Zanon is graduating with an honours bachelor of science in kinesiology, with a minor in psychology. Zanon says her four years at McMaster were extremely rewarding, from the stimulating classes and beautiful campus, to the great people, including students, administrative staff and especially the professors, who she says are not only excellent teachers, but funny and helpful as well. "Mac is definitely the place to be and has been the ultimate experience," she adds. She has applied for a master's degree in both physical and occupational therapy and is awaiting an offer of admission into either of these programs. A career in physical or occupational therapy she says would enable her to actively work with people and to improve their quality of life. To gain experience in this field, she has volunteered at a sports injuries clinic observing and assisting clients with their rehabilitation programs.