2007 Heidi Thiessen Memorial Award

by Pauline Horn, Student Awards Manager

We were pleased to receive very strong submissions from the local universities for the Heidi Thiessen Memorial Award this year. Every year, we award three prizes to students who are in their third or fourth year of studies at the University of Waterloo, Wilfred Laurier University, University of Guelph or the University of Western Ontario. The entries are judged based on their entrance essay, two writing samples, and their academic samples.

Many people helped with the awards this year—to create new graphics, to improve the submission form, and to judge the submissions. As Manager of the Student Awards, I couldn’t do it without the great people in the local chapter. The judges were even willing to come out in the lion-like winter storm that brought in March.

Our winners this year represented a diverse group and made it difficult to choose between them. All the entries were strong, forcing the judges work hard to select the winners.

The third place winner is Faisal Naqib, a third year Mathematics student at the University of Waterloo. His submissions were articles he wrote for the student newspaper to convey technical scientific information in a way that captures the reader’s interest. His articles on “The Origin of the Heart’s Lub-Dubs” and “Use of your Horoscope to Determine Your Illnesses” certainly captured our judges’ interest.

The second place winner is Mark Parris, a fourth year Landscape Architecture student at the University of Guelph. His entry helped us understand what a Landscape Architect does. “Computer Graphics for the Landscape Architect” is an attractive and well-written tutorial book.

The first place winner is Jonathan Musser, a fourth year Civil Engineering student at the University of Waterloo. He understands the importance of making writing concise and easily understood. Jonathan has been consistently on the Dean’s Honor Roll and his two submissions certainly demonstrate his writing capabilities. The judges learned about “Corrosion Testing of a Commercially Available Ultraviolet Reflective Aluminum Sheet” and “Drinking Water Treatment of Estuarine Sources for the Reduction of Disinfection By-Products”.

From left to right: Mark Parris, Faisal Naquib, Pauline Horn, and Jonathan Musser.

All of the winners were present at the Wine & Cheese on March 27th to receive their awards and be recognized for their achievements. We wish them great success in their future careers. Who knows—we may be reading their books or newspaper and magazine articles sometime in the future.

About Pauline Horn

Six years ago, after a career as a developer/analyst, Pauline decide to take on technical writing. It's been a great change and she still uses most of her technical skills to create documentation. Right now, she is taking a sabbatical (which includes volunteering on the STC council) and has plans to start her own consulting company .