News

  • Geography and Tourism Studies Chair receives Michael Plyley Graduate Student Mentorship Award

    Wednesday, May 13, 2020 | By

    FROM THE BROCK NEWS | WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 2020 | by

    Associate Professor Karen Fricker, recipient of the Michael Plyley Graduate Mentorship Award, virtually meets with her graduate student, Russ Martin, and his dog Odee.

    The Faculty of Graduate Studies (FGS) has named the five recipients of the annual FGS Awards, which were delivered the news in a virtual format for the first time in the awards’ nine-year history.

    The awards, typically handed out at the Mapping the New Knowledges Graduate Student Conference in April, celebrate the accomplishments and excellence of members of Brock University’s graduate community.

    “Despite not being able to recognize our winners in-person at this time, handing out these awards is still an important and meaningful celebration of the outstanding graduate culture that Brock has worked hard to grow,” says Diane Dupont, Interim Dean of Graduate Studies. “Our winners have all greatly contributed to making Brock an excellent place to pursue graduate education.”

    Marilyn Rose Graduate Leadership Award

    The Marilyn Rose Graduate Leadership Award, which recognizes a faculty, staff and students for their work and leadership in developing and/or enhancing graduate studies and the graduate student experience for students, was presented to Rachel Yufei Luan.

    “To me, leadership is all about inspiring people,” says Luan, a second-year student in the master of Business Administration International Student Program. “It’s not only what you say you and do, but how you say and do it. People with good leadership skills can influence their community every day.”

    Michael Plyley Graduate Mentorship Award

    The Michael Plyley Graduate Student Mentorship Award normally awards two Faculty members for their outstanding mentorship of graduate students, one in the category or mentorship of only master’s students, and one in the category of mentorship of both master’s and PhD students. However, this year the adjudication committee was unanimous in their decision to name four award winners.

    Michael Pisaric, Professor in the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies, and Karen Fricker, Associate Professor in the Department of Dramatic Arts, were awarded the Mentorship Award in the master’s only category.

    Pisaric says receiving the award was “easily one of the highlights of my career.”

    “When my students approached me about the nomination, I was touched that they thought of me in such regard as to nominate me. To actually receive the award, however, is humbling. Graduate students are at the heart of my research program. Without my amazing students, my research program would not be nearly as successful. We are creating the scientists and leaders of tomorrow ,and my goal is to ensure they are well prepared for whatever path they follow when they leave Brock.”

    Pisaric says one of the most important aspects of being a mentor to his students is cultivating a thoughtful and supportive experience for his students in the same way he received while he was a student.

    The award is equally as meaningful to Fricker, whose advice to other mentoring graduate students is to “seek out opportunities and giver ‘er. Such mentorship is one of the deepest rewards of academic life.”

    As there are currently no graduate programs in Dramatic Arts, the opportunity for Fricker to supervise graduate students is small. Working with her current student in the master of Arts in Popular Culture has been educational and helped her stay on her own theoretical and critical game.

    In the category of master’s and PhD students, the recipients of the awards were Madelyn Law and Miriam Richards.

    Law, Associate Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning and Associate Professor in the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, was touched that her students thought highly enough of their experiences with her to nominate her for the award.

    “I don’t do things to win awards — I just always focus on improving the way I work with students based on listening and understanding their research and educational goals,” says Law. “Receiving this award has allowed me to see that this approach is appreciated and making a difference for these students lives, which is all I could ask for.”

    Richards, a Professor of Biological Sciences, said the award was a great boost during an uncertain time. She also comments that being a good mentor is as beneficial for her, as for her students.

    “Research and academia are challenging, fascinating and sometimes very difficult,” says Richards. “Research is a team activity and for science students, is basically an apprenticeship. It’s not really something you can do by yourself. Supervising grad students is one of the best things about my job.”

    When asked to provide advice and insight to others on effectively mentoring students, all winners felt similar in that there was no perfect recipe, but touted open communication, understanding and kindness.

    The full list of this year’s FGS Awards recipients are below.

    Marilyn Rose Graduate Leadership Award

    Rachel Yufei Luan

    Michael Plyley Graduate Mentorship Award

    Karen Fricker
    Michael Pisaric (Geography and Tourism Studies)
    Madelyn Law
    Miriam Richards

    Jack M. Miller Excellence in Research Awards (at least one recipient from each Faculty)

    Faculty of Applied Health Sciences

    Talia Ritondo, MA, Applied Health Sciences
    Nigel Kurgan, PhD, Applied Health Sciences

    Faculty of Education

    Monica Louie, MEd, Education
    Susan Docherty-Skippen, PhD, Education

    Goodman School of Business

    Ardalan Eyni, MSc, Management

    Faculty of Humanities

    Simone Mollard, MA, Classics
    Brett Robinson, PhD, Interdisciplinary Humanities

    Faculty of Mathematics and Science

    Scott Cocker, MSc, Earth Science
    Parisa Abbasi, PhD, Chemistry

    Faculty of Social Sciences

    Madeline Asaro, MA, Applied Disability Studies
    Megan Earle, PhD, Psychology

    STORY FROM THE BROCK NEWS

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  • Congratulations to Geography MA student Chelsea Fields

    Tuesday, February 11, 2020 | By

    Congratulations to Geography MA student Chelsea Fields on the successful completion of her MRP, titled “Detroit: Motor City or Creative City? The Alternative Media and the Politics of Citizenship,” as well as on the successful completion of all requirements for the MA in Geography.

    Congratulations as well to Chelsea’s supervisory committee: Supervisor Dr. Mike Ripmeester, and Second Reader Dr. Ebru Ustundag.

  • Congratulations to Geography MA student Aaron Nartey

    Tuesday, February 04, 2020 | By

    Congratulations to Geography MA student Aaron Nartey on the successful completion of his MRP, titled “Return Migration of Ghanaian Immigrants: Drivers & Reintegration Challenges,” and on the successful completion of all requirements for the MA in Geography.

    Congratulations and thanks as well to Aaron’s supervisory committee, Dr. David Butz, and Second Reader Dr. Chris Fullerton.

    Congrats Aaron!

    Categories: News

  • Brock students find alarming amounts of plastic in sand at St. Catharines beach

    Wednesday, January 22, 2020 | By

    FROM THE BROCK NEWS | WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 22, 2020 | by

    A collection of plastics picked up on Sunset Beach in St. Catharines by Brock University Geography students in October, 2019.

    A day at the beach doesn’t often involve lab work, but for a group of Brock University fourth-year Geography students tasked with assessing plastic waste on the shores of Lake Ontario last fall, it was just that.

    Back in October, students from Professor of Geography and Tourism Studies Michael Pisaric’s GEOG 4P26 class visited Sunset Beach in north St. Catharines to measure the quantity of plastics turning up in the sand.

    Students measured out plots on the beach and sifted through the sand to collect as many tiny pieces of plastic as they could. They compiled their findings in lab reports for the end of the Fall Term.

    The results are now in, and they’re alarming.

    In one sample alone, one square metre of the beach yielded 665 individual pieces of plastic material.

    Pisaric called the amount and variety of plastics collected in the samples “striking.”

    “I think much of the discussion concerning plastics in the environment has been focused on the oceans and we are quickly understanding that plastic pollution is also an important issue closer to home in the Great Lakes,” said Pisaric, who is also Chair of the Geography and Tourism Studies Department. “This small study of a single beach on Lake Ontario clearly shows the prevalence of plastic pollution in our own backyard is a serious problem.”

    Emily Bowyer, a third-year student from Mississauga majoring in Geography and Biology who participated in the field collection, described it as “an opportunity to see the magnitude of the problems in the environment first-hand.”

    Another surprise to the team was the prevalence of nurdles — small plastic pellets used in the manufacture of many different goods.

    Investigation during the course uncovered a 2013 Toronto Star article that suggested nurdles may have made their way into Lake Ontario via the Humber River during a factory fire.

    “It is interesting to speculate that the prevalence of nurdles we noted in our samples may have originated on the other side of Lake Ontario,” Pisaric said.

    The professor plans to run a similar investigation when the course is offered again next fall to address some of the questions that cropped up in light of the results of the students’ labs.

    “Perhaps next time around I will have the students compare the beaches on Lake Ontario with a beach on Lake Erie,” he said. “Are similar quantities of plastics occurring in both areas? Do the types of plastic differ between the two lake environments?”

    Carolyn Finlayson, Experiential Education Co-ordinator for the Faculty of Social Sciences, attended the field trip and witnessed how interested casual beach visitors were in the students’ activities.

    “It’s a wonderful example of the larger impact experiential learning can have on our Niagara community and our students,” she said. “By working at the beach that day for their lab, students were able to start conversations with beachgoers about their use of plastic and its impact on the shorelines they enjoy.”

    Cara Krezek, Director of Co-op, Career and Experiential Education, said these were exactly the types of courses the University envisioned when it committed to expanding experiential learning so all students had access to meaningful experiences in their programs.

    “Courses like these take our students into a real-world setting and allow them to apply their knowledge, learn new skills and reflect on how they can take these experiences forward to a future career path,” Krezek said. “I am certain these students will never forget their findings and it will change the way they interact with plastics.”

    Emily Bowyer, Pravin Rajayagam and Dakota Schnierle, students in a fourth-year Geography course at Brock, sift through sand on Sunset Beach in St. Catharines to find out how many plastics are washing up on the beach.

    STORY FROM THE BROCK NEWS

    Other Media Coverage

    Brock students find alarming amounts of plastic at St. Catharines beach: Extensive media coverage was given to an experiential learning exercise led by Professor of Geography and Tourism Studies Michael Pisaric that saw Brock students uncover more than 2,000 pieces of plastic on St. Catharines’ Sunset Beach. The story was featured in the St. Catharines Standard, CBC, CHCH, Newstalk 610 CKTB and Coastal News Today.

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  • Experience Expo to combine career fairs from across campus

    Tuesday, January 21, 2020 | By

    FROM THE BROCK NEWS | TUESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2020 | by

    Five career fairs, including the Co-op Summer Recruitment Fair pictured above, have joined together to become the Experience Expo, which will welcome all Brock students to Ian Beddis Gymnasium Tuesday, Jan. 28.

    Though she was hesitant to attend, Candice da Silva knew the difference a job fair could make in the life of a student who came prepared.

    Equipped with her resumé, the Maple, Ont. native visited last year’s Recreation and Leisure job fair and turned the outing into two jobs with the Township of King.

    With a new format this year that combines five career fairs from around the University, da Silva hopes others will come to the Tuesday Jan. 28 Experience Expo event ready to showcase their skills.

    Candice da Silva

    “The fair is a really great place to get an idea of what types of jobs are out there,” she said. “I was looking specifically for something closer to home, and there were several great options, including the Township of King, which hired me as a camp counsellor and then a program facilitator.”

    Hosted by Co-op, Career and Experiential Education (CCEE), the Department of Geography and Tourism, and the Department of Recreation and Leisure, the two-hour event aims to connect students directly with employers who are offering jobs and co-op work terms.

    For Cara Krezek, Director of CCEE, the event represents a chance to bring numerous on- and off-campus partners together and to encourage students to seek out their next steps.

    “We know students are focused on part-time, full-time, on-campus and summer employment and that often those interests and opportunities overlap,” she said. “By bringing together industry partners at the University, we have streamlined our students’ ability to find jobs that align with their current and future needs.”

    Running from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. the Experience Expo is free to all current Brock students and will welcome more than 30 employers to the Ian Beddis Gymnasium where they will set up information booths, facilitate networking opportunities, host on-the-spot interviews and run 20-minute fireside chats.

    With the fair also welcoming employers looking to hire co-op students for the Summer and Fall terms and bilingual (English and French) employees, there are positions available for students from any Faculty who come ready to explore diverse career opportunities.

    To prepare, Krezek said participants should treat the two-hour event as though they were heading to a job interview.

    “We hope they will dress professionally and bring an up-to-date resumé,” she said. “But beyond those basic requirements, it’s also important to prepare an ‘elevator pitch’ about who they are and what skills and experiences they have as well as to research the employers who will be at the event.”

    Prior to the event, staff in CareerZone are available to help students prepare for a variety of the crucial skills necessary when beginning career exploration.

    With so many resources available, both before and during the fair, da Silva hopes students will embrace the opportunity to explore such a wide range of options.

    “As intimidating as it can feel to introduce yourself to a potential employer, everyone there is super friendly and they want to connect with you,” she said. If you do your homework beforehand and come prepared, you will have a great experience.”

    More information about the event, including a full list of employers and a link for registration, can be found on the ExperienceBU website.

    STORY FROM THE BROCK NEWS

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  • Congratulations to our Faculty of Social Science Student Research Award Winners

    Friday, January 03, 2020 | By

    Congratulations to Geography MA students Lina Adeetuk and Julia Hamill, who were each awarded the Faculty of Social Sciences Student Research Award (MA thesis stream).

    Lina’s research project is tentatively titled “Rural Dwellers’ Perspectives on the Significance of New Roads: The Case of Kaasa-Kogsa Road, Builsa North District, Ghana.”

    The tentative title of Julia’s project is “‘Molida’, that’s Shimshali Food: Multilocality, Food Talk and the Constitution of Place-Based Identity in Shimshal, Pakistan.”

    Congratulations to both students as they move ahead with their research!

     

    Categories: News

  • Star of The Alan Nursall Experience shares Brock experience

    Wednesday, December 18, 2019 | By

    FROM THE BROCK NEWS | WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 2019 | by

    Alan Nursall received the 2019 Distinguished Graduate Award for the Faculty of Social Sciences earlier this year.

    When Alan Nursall returned to Brock University 40 years after graduating to receive the 2019 Distinguished Graduate Award for the Faculty of Social Sciences, campus wasn’t quite the same as it was when he’d left.

    “Brock in 2019 is a completely different place, and I mean that in a good way,” says Nursall (BA ’79). “The campus has grown so much and seems so much more imposing than it did in the 70s. But that’s a good thing — its growth is a sign of its success.”

    Even with all of the changes, Nursall’s feeling when he comes to Brock is always the same. “Every time I return, up to and including this year, I get a warm feeling recalling the friends and fun from those four years.”

    Since Nursall completed his Geography studies at Brock, he has become a widely known science educator, with a face easily recognizable from his popular segment, The Alan Nursall Experience, on the Discovery Channel’s Daily Planet.

    He joined the staff of Science North when it opened in 1984 and worked as the science director for its companion facility, Dynamic Earth, from 1999 to 2007.

    He then went on to open NEXT Exhibits + Creative Communication, a firm specializing in creating exhibits and experiences for museums and science centres, working with the likes of the Smithsonian Institution and the Canadian Space Agency to make science accessible, engaging and fun.

    In 2014, Nursall was appointed President and CEO of TELUS World of Science – Edmonton, a science centre operated by the Edmonton Space & Science Foundation, where he continues his work blending learning with entertainment.

    “I ended up spending 35 years working science centres, an incredibly satisfying career that I never dreamed of in school,” says Nursall. “But my post-secondary education sure made it possible.”

    Though he is back in Edmonton now, Nursall was a long way from his Alberta home when he came to Brock in 1975. With a few good friends and a program that excited and challenged him, he found his footing by the end of his first year.

    “I still remember the first time someone called me Cowboy because I was from Alberta,” says Nursall. “I was born and raised in suburban Edmonton, but the nickname stuck, and for most of my four years at Brock, I was called Cowboy by pretty much everybody.”

    Nursall says the nickname still makes him smile, and still comes to mind from time to time, as it did a few years ago when he had the opportunity to take a zero-G flight, flying 15 parabolas and thus having 15 weightless episodes.

    “As part of the flight, you were asked to adopt a nickname,” Nursall says. “I requested the nickname Cowboy, and that name tag from the zero-G flight now sits prominently in my den, a reminder of the flight, but also of my time at Brock.”

    Nursall credits his fourth year in the Geography program as having the strongest impact on his trajectory as a science educator. He notes three key factors: his great professors, some challenging research projects and the fact that his was the first class to be assigned a weekly internship.

    “My internship was at the Atmospheric Environment Service headquarters in Toronto, where I took on a project under the guidance of climatologist Dave Phillips, the originator of the weather trivia calendar and now famous across the country as the Senior Climatologist for Environment Canada,” says Nursall. “Working with Dave, I undertook a research project that turned into a summer job and then turned into a graduate degree.”

    “The internship program really shaped my life, creating connections and opportunity that I never would have imagined possible. I have deep respect and affection for the professors in the Geography department who were always looking for ways to expand our horizons beyond the textbooks and classrooms.”

    Alun Hughes (left) and Alan Nursall face off on the soccer pitch in 1978 on the right.

    When Nursall attended Fall Homecoming to receive his award, he received another gift as well — a copy of History Made in Niagara, the book of Professor Alun Hughes’ writings published posthumously last spring. Nursall says the gift was a highlight of his visit.

    “Alun was a good friend and mentor,” says Nursall, who still has a photo of the two men playing in a student-faculty soccer game around the fall of 1978.

    Nursall emphasizes that he didn’t know what career he would pursue while he was at Brock, but instead he sought out opportunities that challenged and interested him. He would encourage students to embrace their experiences here.

    “Your education doesn’t prescribe your career — it prepares you for it, and for life in general,” Nursall says. “Your education doesn’t fill your brain with information, it helps you become a better thinker. And that is what drives success. That is what expands your world.”

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  • Congratulations to Geography MA student Dean Mizzi

    Thursday, December 12, 2019 | By

    Congratulations to Geography MA student Dean Mizzi on the successful completion of his MRP, titled “Conceptualizing queer online spaces as similar to privately-owned public spaces: Opportunities for geographers,”  as well as on the successful completion of all requirements for the MA in Geography.

    Thank you and congratulations also to Dean’s supervisory committee, Supervisor Dr. Catherine Nash and Second Reader Dr. Jeff Boggs

    Categories: News

  • Department Administrative Coordinator reaches Employee Service Milestone!

    Wednesday, December 11, 2019 | By

     

     

     

    This week our “GeoMom” Virginia Wagg reached her 25 year milestone working at Brock University. Virginia consistently offers an exceptional level of service to both students and faculty, and does with grace and a smile. Her helpfulness, attention to detail and cheery disposition means that everyone who comes into contact with her walks away feeling like they were listened to and helped. She really is the best!

    Congratulations Virginia, from all your friends and colleagues in the Department of Geography and Tourism!

     

    Categories: News

  • Just in time for Christmas! Book celebrates work of late Brock cartographer

    Tuesday, December 10, 2019 | By

    Want a Christmas present for that history or geography buff who has everything?!

    Alun Hughes, a longtime member of Brock’s Department of Geography, had an enormous appetite for local history.

    Between 2003 and his untimely death in 2013, the trained cartographer wrote extensively about the geography and history of the Niagara region.

    Hoping to honour his passion, Hughes’ former colleagues have come together to release a book of his essays, History Made in Niagara. The book was compiled by Hughes’ former colleagues from the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies, Professors Mike Ripmeester and David Butz and retired cartographer Loris Gasparotto.

     

    History Made in Niagara can be purchased at the launch for $35 (cash only) through the Department of Geography and Tourism Studies

    For more information about the book, please call 905-688-5550 x3484.

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