Howe Sound Secondary School Governor General's Awards were handed to two high achieving young women with very similar life goals on Tuesday June 14. Stephanie Sellers received the 2002/2003 Governor General's award by earning a perfect 4.0 grade point average as did the 2003/2004 award-winner, Lori Woodman. And both women have already taken strides toward a future in medicine.
Twenty-year-old Sellers graduated in June 2003 and said the award gave her a sense of satisfaction for all her "hard work and dedication". And of course, her family gushed with pride. Sellers was quick to acknowledge the people who continued to be a key part of her success.
"A large portion of my success can be attributed to my parents who were always very involved in all aspects of my life and instilled in me the importance of a good education," she said. "My success is also a result of many talented and committed teachers I have had throughout the years."
Sellers said she is focused on a career in medicine and currently has a 4.20 GPA out of a possible 4.33. She'll begin her third year in biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Northern British Columbia in September and her summer plans include working as a cooperative education student in the stem cell research lab of the Terry Fox Laboratory in Vancouver.
"This position has been an excellent learning opportunity and I've been able to gain substantial practical experience," she said.
Nineteen-year-old Woodman is also enrolled in university, studying mechanical engineering at the University of Victoria. She attributed her success partially to her twin sister Marnie. "We had the opportunity of constantly having competition, a study partner, and we did all of our projects together," said Woodman. "We collaborated on pretty much everything."
She also credited a number of influential HSSS teachers.
"There are some amazing teachers at Howe Sound who helped me," she said. "Mr. Katramadakis and his passionate ways of teaching and love for physics is what made me want to become an engineer. Mrs. Roblyn, Mrs. Fox and Mr. Jones all put up with my questioning and provided answers and guidance. Mr. Fay for always letting me into the gym. Athletically, the one person who really comes to mind is Mrs. Cunneyworth, because she inspired me before I came to share the same knee injury circumstance with her and now my respect for her is enormous."
It's Woodman's knee injury - for which she's undergone three surgeries - that has inspired her to a future in medicine.
"I find that the brace I have to wear really hinders my ability to play basketball," she said. "So I'm hoping to help other athletes in the same situation be able to perform like they did before getting injured. I would love to design an entire knee replacement suitable for athletes one day, because I'm going to need one eventually, but that's a long way down the road."
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