Awards &
Community service

Awards/achievements

2024

(Photo: Annie Diotte)

2024

  • The Order of the White Rose Scholarship, Tenth Recipient
  • University of Alberta Deans Honour Roll
  • Brooke Owens Aerospace Fellowship Class of 2024 with host company Zipline Delivery and Logistics
  • Private Pilots License (PPL)

2023

2023

  • UNOOSA Expert Meeting
  • SEDS Canada Impact Award
  • YSpacE 1st Place
  • Canadian Engineering Memorial Fund (CEMF) & Enbridge Women in Stem
  • University of Alberta 1st Class Standing 2019-Present

2022

Zenith Class with Astronaut Jeremy Hansen

Honoured to be chosen as a Zenith fellow, I had the opportunity to meet lifelong friends, mentor Shawna Pandya, and intern at Sinclair by Rocket Lab. The year started with an amazing Canadian Space Conference, where our Termin8 team won first place at the YspacE competition and I was thankful to receive the SEDS Canada Impact Award for my work on CAN-SBX, promoting student space opportunities at 3 different conferences, and initiating the Careers in Space blog. I was thankful to receive the Women in STEM scholarship for my academic and extracurricular achievements.

  • Zenith Fellowship Class of 2022
  • SEDS Canada Impact Award
  • Women in STEM Scholarship

2020/2021

    I was a proud recipient of the 2021 UNICEF writing competition with a prompt to introduce a policy that would benefit the community. My sister who was about to graduate was experiencing a lot of stress about what school and program she wanted to apply for after high school. I realized that many youth are lost and confused, with many not having the right resources or knowledge of the opportunities open to them. Wanting to make a change, I wrote a 3 phase plan helping students from junior to senior high school gain exposure on different career paths. Hopefully with this essay made public, a policy such as this one will be implemented to help decrease the uncertainty our youth face today and help them find their passions in a job they enjoy. For my academics I was thankful to receive both the Jason Lang and Superior Academic Standing scholarship for my first year of university.
  • Campus UNICEF Summer Writing Competition
  • Jason Lang Scholarship
  • Superior Academic Standing Scholarship

2019 & Prior

I was a proud recipient of the 2021 UNICEF writing competition with a prompt to introduce a policy that would benefit the community. My sister who was about to graduate was experiencing a lot of stress about what school and program she wanted to apply for after high school. I realized that many youth are lost and confused, with many not having the right resources or knowledge of the opportunities open to them. Wanting to make a change, I wrote a 3 phase plan helping students from junior to senior high school gain exposure on different career paths. Hopefully with this essay made public, a policy such as this one will be implemented to help decrease the uncertainty our youth face today and help them find their passions in a job they enjoy. For my academics I was thankful to receive both the Jason Lang and Superior Academic Standing scholarship for my first year of university.

 

  • University of Alberta Entrance Scholarship, 2019
  • Alexander Rutherford Scholarship, 2019
  • Honour Role, Cochrane High School, 2015-2019
  • Principles Choice Scholarship, 2019
  • Class Act Scholarship, 2019
  • Athletics Gold Standard Medal, 2019
  • Athlete of the year Cochrane High, 2017
  • MVP Award, Cochrane High Basketball Team, 2017
  • Heart Award, Rockyview sports association, 2015, 2018
  • PSA anti-bullying campaign winner, Boys and Girls Club of Cochrane 2015

Community service

Community is a priority of mine, and I am fortunate to be part of many initiatives to help create a welcoming and equal society. Being a woman and visible minority in STEM, I greatly support encouraging underrepresented groups to follow their passions. Chosen as a feature profile for WISEST, I used the interview and live panel as a way to encourage young girls and share my experiences. I strive to help those in need and take action to create a community where everyone can learn and grow.

Academic

This year I am excited to be chosen to represent female students and youth in the space industry at the UNOOSA expert meeting, where I will be giving a presentation on strategies to better support students such as through mentorship, student projects, and internship opportunities. Whether technical presentations or outreach discussions, I always try to submit an abstract when I can. With plans to continue publishing technical academic papers, my student team published our first paper on our microgravity experiment and design. A list of some of the conferences I have attended are below:

 
Conferences
  • UNOOSA (United Nations Office Of Space Affairs) Women4Space Expert Meeting 2023: Planned presenter and poster presenter 
  • Space Ex Concordia & Mars Society Conference 2022: Youth in Space Presenter & SEDS booth manager
  • Earth Observation Forum 2022: Youth in Space Presenter
  • TELUS World of Science Women in STEM Panel 2022: Panelist
  • Canadian Space Conference 2022: Poster Presenter & YspacE participant
  • International Women’s Day Girl Guides 2021: Featured Panelist
  • APEGA Nexus Conference 2021: Poster Presenter
  • WISEST Panel 2021
  • Canadian Space Conference 2021 Poster Presenter
 
Publications
  • M.Kuzyk, J.Gebara, J. Belisle, “Electroadhesive Robotics Experiment in Simulated Microgravity, IEEE Potentials, vol.42, no.3, pp.24-30, May 2023, doi: https://doi.org/10.1109/MPOT.2023.3241423 

Outreach

Space in Alberta Video
2023

An ongoing project with another student aiding production and filming is developing a video on space clubs at the University of Alberta, with a planned release at the end of this year. The video will then be shown across schools to showcase to students how opportunities for space research are within reach. 

Science Center Exhibition
Telus World of Science
2023

Mission SpaceWalker was asked by the Telus World of Science to develop an exhibition at the science centre, which is an ongoing project to create interactive and educational installations to inspire youth in space. 

Minds in Motion Workshop Presenter
University of Calgary Camp
2023

As a collaboration with Mission SpaceWalker, the team put on a month of activities with grade-school students teaching them how algorithms work and coding with arduino.

Volunteer and Group Lead
WISEST Conference & Camps
2019-Present

Along with my friend and mentor Abby Lacson, we created an interactive activity for the WISEST camp which taught youth the basic coding of drones. It was fulfilling to see the kids immersed in the challenge of programming and flying their own vehicle.

Assistant Coach
Cochrane Kodiaks Midget/Bantam & Cambridge BJJ
2016-2021

Sports are a big passion of mine, so being able to inspire fitness in youth is of big importance to me. Seeing my players grow and their strong motivation to improve is why I continue to coach.

Waitress and Kitchen Staff
Feed the Hungry
2019-2020

While waitressing and serving food to those less fortunate, it made me realize how strong a community can be and its benefits. I value helping others to create a happier society.

Team Player and Scorekeeper
Lister Dodgeball Association
2019-2020
Fundraiser
Kids Cancer Care
2019-2020
Literacy Tutoring
Elizabeth Barrett
2015-2016
Basketball/Volleyball Scorekeeper
CMBA and RVSA
2016-Present