The Heidi Thiessen Memorial Award:
Connecting Students and the STC

by Christy Simard, Student Awards Manager

At our March wine and cheese meeting, we will announce the winners of the Heidi Thiessen Memorial Award for Student Technical Writing. If last year is any indication, we will enjoy meeting the winners and their supporters, and get face to face with talent from the University of Waterloo (UW) and Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU).

The Heidi Thiessen Memorial Award is an important part of our chapter. It embodies our commitment to education in a tangible way: the 1^st place award includes $1,000 and the 2^nd place award includes $500. It also brings new student members to our chapter, giving them all the benefits of an STC membership and creating networking opportunities for students and professional communicators alike.

This year, we will create new connections through our official student liaisons and former award winners. Four gregarious volunteers will publicize the award on the UW and WLU campuses. Participating in a word-of-mouth campaign, they will speak to professors of third- and fourth-year classes, and make direct contact with third- and fourth-year students in several faculties.

Combined with our poster campaign, newspaper ads, and entries on a number of scholarship websites, we will get word of this valuable award to as many students as possible.

Sincere thanks to our volunteers!

• UW student liaisons Lindsay DeClou and Sally Heath
• WLU student liaison and 2003 award winner Diane Russell
• 2003 1^st place award winner Joanna Duong

You can get a copy of the entry form from the Awards page on our Web site or, you can contact me, Christy Simard, the Student Awards Manager. Otherwise, we hope to see you at our general meeting in March.