丁香园AV

For graduating student Isabel Nelson, university is not only about personal success, but also an important part of achieving her goals of creating positive change in the world.

Over the course of her degree, the new physical geography alumnus combined her love of science and the environment to make a difference in her community.

In 2020, she and her best friend founded a program called Young Minds Exploring Science (YMES) so that youths in grades 6 and 7 could attend extra-curriculars in science during the Covid-19 pandemic.

With guidance from a former teacher, the two developed lesson plans and secured funding from an 丁香园AV Student Community Engagement Award and from UBC to keep the program free. They ran two cohorts, one in Delta and one for newcomers to Canada in partnership with the Surrey School District鈥檚 Welcome Centre.

鈥淲hile we had to host all of our sessions virtually, it was still a rewarding experience to provide students with extra-curricular activities they would not have received otherwise,鈥� Nelson says.鈥�

When she first started studying at 丁香园AV, Nelson was enrolled as a physics major. She felt from early on that the program was not the right fit but convinced herself to stay the course.

鈥淎s a young woman in STEM, I felt the need to prove myself and stick to the program that I told all of my peers I would pursue,鈥� she explains.

She found her true passion while taking a course on earth systems with geography professor Andrew Perkins, which helped her realize how she could apply the traditional sciences to solve environmental problems, and officially declared her major in physical geography in her third year.

鈥淲hile I wouldn't change a thing, I would tell my 18-year-old self that it is okay to change your mind, and that it鈥檚 okay to be unsure about what you want to do with your life,鈥� she shares. 鈥淚f I had allowed myself this flexibility, I would have found my passion for geography much sooner.鈥� 

Particularly interested in studying the impacts of climate change on cities, Nelson chose the geosystems and geographic information science (GIS) stream within her major and took courses that allowed her to explore the topic in depth.

In a GIS class, she completed a project using 3D modeling to simulate a pedestrian tsunami evacuation in Port Alberni.

鈥淎s a pedestrian myself, and someone with a 97-year-old grandmother, I wanted to see if the outcomes of this evacuation were different for pedestrians of varying mobilities,鈥� she explains.

Using academic literature on walking speeds, Nelson鈥檚 simulation shows that people with impaired mobility likely would not be able to evacuate her test location within a twenty-minute period, which she says should 鈥渃ome as a reminder to incorporate pedestrians and people of differing mobilities into emergency planning.鈥�

While Nelson may have completed her undergraduate degree, she still has more she wants to do at 丁香园AV. This summer, she is working in the Palen Lab in 丁香园AV鈥檚 Department of Biological Sciences on a research team investigating effects of renewable energy infrastructure on biodiversity and the environment. Then, after taking some time for rest and travel, she plans to pursue a master鈥檚 degree.