Samuelle Simard-Provençal Vancouver Island University
Samuelle Simard-Provençal
My name is Samuelle Simard-Provençal and I am a fourth-year student working towards an honours in Ecology and a major in Mathematics at Vancouver Island University (VIU), British Colombia. My interest in ecology and natural history began with colourful memories of my childhood, chasing butterflies and exploring the beaches and forests of my beautiful backyard that is Vancouver Island. I began my post-secondary education with no idea in what direction I wanted to go. I quickly became involved with many volunteer organizations and projects in and around the VIU community to try and learn some new things, and I continue even now to take on new projects and expand my community involvement. Currently, I am involved in a few clubs (the Math Club, the Biology Club, and the Eco Club) and I help lead science outreach programs with the Math, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics departments. I am also employed by the Mathematics Department as a free tutor resource for students. Teaching and helping students are real sources of motivation for my future career goals as an academic and an educator. My proudest accomplishment as a leader in my VIU community is the role I play for the VIU Bird Banding project. Here, with hundreds of hours dedicated to the project, I am responsible for training students and community volunteers to safely and properly band birds to contribute to scientific data on bird populations as well as pass on my love and passion of ornithology. I would not have gotten as far as I have now if not for the immense support I have received from my professors and the opportunities they have made available to students. A massive thank you to all of them for their encouragement and for always believing in me.