A match made at USask

The University of Saskatchewan (USask) is a special place for Rhodes Scholars Rachel Andres (BSc’23, BEd’23, BSc’24) and Colin Dyck (BE’25).

USask is where they earned their undergraduate degrees. It’s where they pursued their passion for science. It’s where they took part in extracurricular activities, such as performing with the Greystone Singers. It’s where they learned they were both recipients of prestigious Rhodes Scholarships.

And it’s also where they first met, fell in love, and became engaged to be married.

“It’s a beautiful campus—a great place to fall in love, apparently,” Andres said in a recent interview with the Green&White.

Andres, who grew up in Hepburn, Sask., studied in USask’s College of Arts and Science as well as in the College of Education, earning a Bachelor of Science (honours) degree in biology in 2024 and a Bachelor of Education degree in 2023. Dyck, who grew up in Saskatoon, Sask., studied in the College of Engineering and will receive his Bachelor of Engineering degree during USask’s 2025 Spring Convocation ceremony on June 6.

“I’ll be excited to just officially have it done and walk the stage,” he said.

Andres is currently living in England, where she is pursuing her Doctor of Philosophy degree in biology at the University of Oxford, while Dyck is living in Saskatoon, where he will be working on the USask campus this summer.

They first met two years ago as members of the Greystone Singers, a mixed-voice choir open by audition to all USask students who love singing and who enjoy learning challenging and varied repertoire.

“I’m a soprano and Colin’s a bass and our sections were right next to each other,” Andres recalled. “So, it started off with us kind of talking when we weren’t supposed to in-between songs.”

Their relationship further blossomed during a conversation about mass spectrometry, a type of analytical chemistry technique, which led them to realize they had even more in common than their shared interest in music. A few weeks after that conversation, Dyck invited Andres for coffee.

They proceeded to meet on campus at the Tim Hortons in the Geology Building before heading to their respective classes after the coffee date. Later that day, Dyck texted Andres to invite her on “a real first date,” Andres said. They made plans to attend an evening concert performed by the USask Wind Orchestra.

“We’re very, very USask-themed,” Andres said with a laugh.

Dyck and Andres continued to fall in love with each other over more coffee dates and live music events, as well as through their shared adventures exploring Saskatchewan’s landscapes.

While they were enjoying getting to know each other, as their relationship progressed, they also knew that they would become physically separated.

In 2023, Andres had received the great news that she was selected as one of just 11 university students across Canada to receive the Rhodes Scholarship. Established in 1903, the Rhodes Scholarship includes tuition, fees, and a stipend for living expenses while studying at the University of Oxford in England. It is the oldest graduate scholarship offered in the world and one of the most prestigious.

Becoming a Rhodes Scholar is an incredible opportunity, and Andres was thrilled to further her education in plant science at the University of Oxford. In September 2024, she boarded a plane to travel to Oxford, U.K., to begin her graduate studies. Many tears were shed as she said goodbye to Dyck, who remained in Saskatoon to continue his engineering degree at USask.

“Before I left for Oxford, we had lots of conversation,” Andres said. “In some ways, I think our relationship got a little bit more serious faster because we had to factor long distance into it.”

Soon after Andres moved to England in the fall of 2024, the couple received some amazing news: Dyck too was selected to receive a Rhodes Scholarship. That meant he would join Andres at the University of Oxford in the fall of 2025 to pursue his Doctor of Philosophy degree. Considering there are only 11 Rhodes Scholarships awarded to students among Canada’s 97 universities each year, it was exceptional that Dyck and Andres would both become Rhodes Scholars in back-to-back years.

“It still sometimes just feels so surreal,” Dyck said.

After several months of dating long distance, Andres returned to Saskatoon from the U.K. in late 2024 for a Christmas visit. A few days into their time together, Dyck proposed to Andres along the banks of the South Saskatchewan River, near the Diefenbaker Building on the USask campus, on a beautiful winter day. Soon after they became engaged, Dyck travelled to Oxford to visit Andres, where they enjoyed exploring the city and got a glimpse of their future life together. They will now marry this summer at Wanuskewin Heritage Park, located above the opimihāw Creek and the South Saskatchewan River near Saskatoon.

“I think it’ll just be really special to celebrate with family and friends,” Andres said.

While Andres is enjoying living in the U.K., she’s looking forward to returning to her roots and spending time with Dyck in Saskatchewan this summer.

“There’s nothing like being along the river, and it really is lovely,” she said.

After their wedding, Andres and Dyck will travel to Europe for their honeymoon. They will then return to the U.K., where Andres will continue her studies at the University of Oxford in September and Dyck will begin his studies there in October.

As they start the next chapter of their lives together, they both look back on their time at USask with gratitude and fondness, noting they were able to obtain a world-class education in their home province.

“I just feel so humbled to get to go out in the world as a representative of the USask alumni community,” Andres said.

At the University of Oxford, Andres is pursuing studies in the Department of Biology where she is examining symbiosis between nitrogen-fixing bacteria and pea plants.

“I’m kind of trying to understand some of the mechanisms behind that, and the end goal of the lab that I’m in is to someday, hopefully, be able to engineer symbiosis in cereal crops that rely on synthetically produced nitrogen,” she said.

Dyck hasn’t fully selected his graduate project, but he plans to focus on atmospheric physics at the University of Oxford, likely examining aerosols—suspended liquid and solid particles in the atmosphere—and their long-term effects on climate.

Dyck and Andres are looking forward to living in the same city again and are excited about the next chapter of their lives as spouses. They also feel well-prepared to continue their scientific endeavours at the University of Oxford, thanks to the outstanding undergraduate education they received at USask.

“We both feel so grateful for the education we got at USask, and the opportunities,” Andres said.