University of Ottawa graduate student Karine Lortie is the 2004 National Volunteer Award winner from the National Let’s Talk Science (LTS) Partnership Program.
Lortie was selected from among hundreds of volunteers who participate in LTS Partnership Programs at 18 Canadian universities. She is “an incredibly creative volunteer”, said Dr. Barbara Vanderhyden of the Ottawa Regional Cancer Centre, who coordinates the LTS program in Ottawa.
A volunteer with the program for the past 18 months, Lortie has performed at least 15 activities with groups of up to 75 people. She also created a hands-on activity on food chemistry and fermentation.
“I see this award as a recognition that my volunteer work helped in the development of the program. It was a two-way street since LTS helped me develop numerous skills, which will be useful in my future roles,” Lortie said. She is currently completing her MSc in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and hopes to work in a field such as scientific regulatory affairs.
“This is the second time in three years that a volunteer from the Ottawa program has won this national award and, coincidentally, both volunteers are from the same department,” Vanderhyden said.
Ottawa’s LTS program has over a hundred student volunteers who are partnered with 175 teachers at regional elementary and secondary schools.In total, the volunteers perform more than 25 in-class, hands-on activities with pre-university students each month.
“It is an excellent opportunity to enhance the graduate students’ teaching abilities while at the same time promoting awareness of the science programs at the University,” the program coordinator added.
Two other uOttawa graduate students – Shoshanah Jacobs and Jennifer Patterson – were also nominated for the award.
