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February 19, 1999
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Volume 6, Number 11 |
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About OCNCover
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GRADUATE STUDENTSStudent of paleobiology opts to live her faith on way to PhD
A commitment to her faith and to humanitarian service has prompted a U of S graduate to spend the next two years in Israel. Michele Kotyk, 23, left Saskatoon for Israel about eight months ago. She's working as a secretary at the Baha'i World Centre, in Haifa, a city of about 300,000 on the Mediterranean coast. One of the principles of the Baha'i faith is that all people should strive to be of service to humanity. It was with this in mind that Kotyk decided to take up a position at the World Centre. She'll remain there until the year 2000. "During work for my masters degree, I felt that my work was not oriented toward service to the extent that I would have liked," she says, via e-mail. "I also wanted to get experience doing something different and broaden my horizons. So I applied to do volunteer service at the Baha'i World Centre, the administrative and spiritual centre of the faith. It's a great privilege to be able to serve here."
Born in Canora but raised in Saskatoon, Kotyk originally intended to study biochemistry at the U of S but didn't want to take the required math courses. Instead, she settled on paleobiology, an interdisciplinary program combining biology, geology, and archeology. It was during an undergraduate geology class that her instructor, Dr. Jim Basinger, noticed Kotyk's keen interest in the subject. He suggested that she apply for a summer scholarship from the National Science and Engineering Council of Canada (NSERC). Her application was successful and she spent the following summer doing research. After completing her BSc degree in 1995, she went on to earn a masters degree in paleontology in 1997. Not surpisingly, her thesis supervisor was Professor Basinger, who had helped her along early in her university career. "He's been priceless," Kotyk says. "A true gem." The thesis - which earned her the Harry Toop Memorial Prize for English proficiency in a scientific thesis, and an accompanying cheque for $5,000 - was on a collection of plant fossils dating back 400-450 million years or so.
"They're some of the oldest plant fossils in North America and were found on Bathurst Island in the Canadian Arctic," she says. "My thesis set out to describe the different species of plants in the collection. I ended up discovering between seven and 10 species that had never been described before." After her term of service in Israel is over, she plans to pursue a PhD in paleobotany. Until then, however, she says she's enjoying life in a country she intially knew little about. "I expected Israel to be a very different place from what it is. The Canadian media really skewed my perceptions of the country. From the news, you'd expect Israel to be a good place to get blown up. This is generally not true." "When I first came, there was some tension with Iraq and we all had to learn how to use gas masks. But this was the only time that the Israel I saw on TV was the same as the Israel I've experienced." She describes Israel as "very peaceful and modern" and the people as "loving, especially when you get to know them. But there are some extreme cultural differences. Of course, these are things you just have to adapt to." - Keith Solomon
For further information, visit the web site or contact communications@usask.ca
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Next issue of On Campus News: Friday, March 12
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