Meet the 2023 Faculty of Science cohort of McCall MacBain Scholars
The McCall MacBain Foundation has announced the thirty students from 10 countries who will form its first cohort of global scholars at McGill University, arriving in September 2023. Among them are four students who will be pursuing degrees in the Faculty of Science.
Agnès Totschnig
MSc, Mathematics and Statistics
Agnès is completing a joint honours degree in mathematics and computer science at McGill. She led a team organizing Hack McGill, the university’s largest annual hackathon, and started a similar event in Nigeria. Agnès co-founded and oversees events for the diversity in math club, and participates in the equity, outreach, and student well-being committee, and holds a part-time job. She has worked as a research assistant at the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence and will continue pursuing her research interests through a master’s degree in mathematics.
Jessie Meanwell
MSc, Mathematics and Statistics
A mathematics student at McMaster University, Jessie makes free educational math videos and serves as vice-president academic of the mathematics and statistics student society. She has led high school outreach workshops, volunteered as a homework helper at a community health centre, and contributed to several other campus groups. Jessie also worked part-time to build an inclusive program for incoming first-year math students and worked as a camp counsellor. She will begin a master’s degree in mathematics at McGill.
Minh Au
MSc, Physics
An engineering physics student at the University of Saskatchewan, Minh leads a student group dedicated to design and innovation in biomedical engineering. She has worked and volunteered as an editor for the university’s student-run newpaper, tutored students at a Vietnamese language school, and managed social media for a financial literacy club. During the summers, Minh worked in research and taught kids at a science camp. She spent last summer conducting research at CERN, the largest particle physics laboratory in the world, and plans to study experimental particle physics at McGill.
Sarah Rourke
MSc, Physics
Sarah revived and leads a feminist physics club at the University of Waterloo, where she is studying physics and astronomy. One of the club’s recent initiatives was to host a mentoring night to connect over 100 students to diverse mentors. Sarah has also led a science orientation week, placed first in an international student research competition, and contributed to five public art projects. As a summer intern at SNOLAB, an underground science laboratory in northern Ontario, she served on the equity, diversity, and inclusion task force and volunteered at outreach events. Sarah will begin a master’s degree in physics at McGill.