Our alumni are our best ambassadors – Learn all about the benefits of our program by reading the experiences from some of our past students and tutors here as well as on the sidebar to the right. If you were a staff or student alumni and would like to help future students by providing us with a testimonial, we would love to hear it. Email your testimonials to [email protected].
—————————————————————————————————————–
Amanda Quan – DRSA Student: 2013
Check out this link to hear what Amanda has to say about the DRSA Summer Program! Thank you to ScienceExpo for promoting our programs!
Courtney Engel – DRSA Tutor: 2011, 2012
“I was fortunate enough to be a part of this fantastic program as a tutor for two summers and I had nothing but incredible experiences. It is not everyday that you are given the opportunity to conduct real and useful research in a professional environment with extremely intelligent, friendly, and encouraging scientists and engineers. Most importantly, as a current Bachelor of Education student, I have been able to reflect upon my time as a DRSA tutor from a teaching perspective. Designing a unique and creative research project required a great deal of planning and preparation, but was well worth it once the students arrived and the project was underway. One the greatest rewards of being a tutor is seeing the transformation the students go through over the course of the 6-week program. Through busy days at work and super fun activities back at camp, they gain a strong understanding of their project/research area, learn to face the many unexpected challenges that come with scientific research, and they build long-lasting friendships with their fellow students as well as the tutors. Having such positive experiences with the DRSA, I highly recommend becoming a tutor to anyone who wishes to teach science in a fun and engaging environment.”
– Courtney, 2011 and 2012 Tutor
—————————————————————————————————————–
Connor Dobson – DRSA Student: 2011
“I attended DRSA in between 10th grade and 11th grade. I always had a secret love for math and science, but found it very hard to express this with my classmates at my school who were not as interested in science as I. When I arrived at DRSA, I was astonished to find very many likeminded people to talk and work with. I remember calling home one of the first few nights and telling my parents: “It’s so weird; the people here are just like me! We talked about physics, chemistry and math!” and that’s not to say it was all science, all the time; conversation flowed just as easily about regular things like music, sports, video games, etc. I learned so much about myself too: focusing my career path (which will now hopefully revolve around scientific research or engineering), getting in touch with my passion for science, what I’m like when I’m away from my family and previous friends (which is somewhat like living on your own) and how in a group of likeminded people I can find many new friends. My life has truly been changed by my experiences there and definitely for the better. If I could go back I would, in a heartbeat. I recommend DRSA to anyone who wants to meet likeminded people and have the best summer of their lives.”
—————————————————————————————————————–
Julia Grein – DRSA Student: 2012
“I wasn’t quite sure what I was getting myself into at first. But by the end, none of us wanted to leave. The DRSA is truly is one of those, “You HAD to be there!” kind of experiences. The DRSA provided a good mixture of working and leisure time. Working at AECL’s Chalk River Laboratories was so cool – not many people (or high school students for that matter) can say that they worked at a nuclear research facility during their summer! Even though I had no idea what my project was about at first, by the end I felt confident about it. Words cannot fully describe my summer experience at the DRSA. It was definitely the best thing I have done!”
—————————————————————————————————————–
Amanda Hebert – DRSA Student: 2011
“The DRSA experience is absolutely amazing. Having attended and then helped new students through it all I can honestly say it is unbelievable. DRSA changes your life for the better. You learn loads about who you are and make new discoveries about the world around you. The challenge DRSA brings is welcome and enjoyable for those who love to learn.”
—————————————————————————————————————–
Calene Treichel – DRSA Student: 2012
“The best way to describe my Deep River Science Academy experience is to simply say everything was absolutely amazing! Not only was it a unique work experience though – I made a lifetime of memories in those six weeks. I was able to meet people my age who have many of the same interests and characteristics as me, and that’s something I never would have experienced if it weren’t for DRSA.”
—————————————————————————————————————–
Angie Hurley – DRSA Student: 2007
“The six weeks I spent at DRSA still rank among the best I ever had. Coming from Newfoundland, everything was new, different and very intimidating. DRSA taught me to jump into new experiences and to ride out the adventure no matter what. Without the lessons of being independent, embracing the unknown and real science I don’t think I would have had the courage to make some of the leaps of faith I’ve made in my post secondary. Besides all that, I made some great friends with people from all over. If for no other reason, attend the camp for the Ogilvie’s food and hospitality! Amazing experience and amazing people that I will continue to carry with me through my second degree.”
Angie Hurley
DRSA 2007 – Cabin 3
—————————————————————————————————————–
Jeff Orman – DRSA Tutor: 1992, 1993
“My experience as a DRSA tutor took place in 1992 and 1993. The first summer I worked under Jim Forster in the TASCC facility developing a integrating beam detector and a movement system for wire detectors within the Q3D mass spectrometer. The 2nd summer, in addition to studying the feasibility of a passive safety for CANDU6/9 with John Hilborn, I assisted tutors on site with any issues that they might have.
“The DRSA continues to be a vivid memory for me, working alongside scientists, technical support staff and high-school students in real projects that benefitted the research of Canada’s foremost nuclear research facility. I came to realize quickly that scientists are very busy, having to rely on the support staff and my own initiative to direct my project. Probably most significantly, I realized that research science is a multi-disciplined work that requires the researcher to design and advocate the experiment, design and create equipment and validate their findings, justifying their research funds to boot. I found myself immersed in a problem with vast possible methods of solution, paring the solutions down by what was feasible, cost effective and timely. My dreams of flashy, expensive equipment designed to my order met with the reality of designing and building it myself out of robust, meet-the-need materials. I had to design an approach based on lengthy background research and the experiences of others. I would isolate variables, and test my solution, troubleshooting equipment malfunctions myself. Research is hard work with only a few co-workers cheering you on and celebrating your triumphs, but with the reward of knowing you are the first one to investigate this particular behaviour and that you have advanced knowledge in your discipline.
“As an science educator for 15 years, the DRSA has impressed on me the need for students to develop their own lab activities and get away from pre-designed ‘cookie-cutter’ labs. It is through problem-solving that they learn how to isolate variables, design the activities that will prove/disprove their hypothesis, creating the equipment, and processes to carry out the experiment. Students have responded well, but like my own experience, need the guidance and encouragement to implement this process. We all start out optimistic, but get bogged down when we feel ill-equipped. Perhaps in isolating variables, designing test equipment or the hum-drum of repetition of the same experiment with a minor variable change. These are valuable lessons for anyone considering scientific research as a career and the DRSA is an early opportunity to test out the waters.
” I highly recommend the program for those that want to teach science since it generates an appreciation of pure vs. applied research, writing reports to generate funding, and the collaborative environment amongst various disciplines to design, create and implement experimental equipment. I think my philosophy of learning is richer because I appreciate the perspectives of many people when designing a project. We all have different ways of looking at the problem and sharing our thoughts can save time and effort because of this cumulative experience. Students can design their own experiments, and they will understand the process of science better whether their hypothesis is proven, or not. The process is the learning and the skills are multi-functional. ”
Jeff Orman
Technical Engineering Specialist – Operations Programs & Standards
Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.
—————————————————————————————————————–
For more testimonials, see the side bar on the left!
Share on Facebook- Share on Linkedin
- Tweet about it
- Print for later
- Bookmark in Browser
- Tell a friend
