Kianna Christie

I grew up in the small town of Binscarth, Manitoba. I was raised by my two wonderful parents, Bob and Brenda Christie, and have four siblings. Family has always been very important to me, and I was fortunate enough to grow up with my grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins all in the same community.

I attended school at Binscarth Elementary School until grade 8. In my grade 9 year my family moved to Egypt, where I spent a semester attending the Canadian International School of Egypt. This was an incredible, life changing experience for me that I will forever be thankful for. I returned to Canada to finish the rest of my schooling and graduate high school at Major Pratt School in Russell Manitoba.

I attended the University of Manitoba my first year after high school. Following that year, I was still unsure of the educational path I had wanted to pursue and decided to delay my studies for a year. In my year off I participated in a Canada World Youth Volunteer Exchange Program, where I spent 3 months living and volunteering in Nanaimo, BC and another 3 months living and volunteering in Indonesia. After my exchange, I returned home and resumed my studies at Brandon University in hopes of achieving my Bachelor of Science degree.

While studying at Brandon University, I found a new passion. I loved physics in my first year at the university and decided to pursue physics as my major. I am currently in my third year of my studies in physics and find myself continually excited to learn each day. In addition to my education, I also hold the executive position of secretary of Brandon University Physics and Astronomy Club, am a teacher’s assistant for the first-year physics labs and offer both group and individual tutoring to the first year physics students.

Growing up in a small town, I have a very strong sense of community and understand how essential volunteers are in keeping a community alive. I have volunteered as a counselor for a total of seven summers at Vagabond Theater’s Actin’ Up Camp, and in the past volunteered for the Binscarth School Breakfast Program, serving breakfast to students one morning a week. I also became a member of the Expanding Community Cancer Care committee which is organizing fundraising efforts to renovate the current chemotherapy unit in our community.

I plan to graduate in the spring of 2020 with my Bachelor of Science Honours degree with a major in physics and a minor in mathematics. I look forward to my future endeavors in the field of Physics, and hope that I can use my passion for Physics to inspire others as my professors and fellow students here at Brandon University have inspired me.

Nominators’ Comments

Kianna is fearless and able to excel at virtually anything she tries, even if she has not done it before. Her confidence is inspiring, and her personality is the highlight of the student group.

Kianna Christie is an exceptional student, and deserves to be recognized during the International Women’s Day celebration. I am a new faculty member at BU, and I was fortunate to have Kianna as a lab TA in both of my first term lab periods. Having her to assist was a tremendous help for me. Kianna was consistently prepared, and always had an in-depth understanding of that week’s experiment. In discussing class work with her, I was impressed at the depth of her knowledge and unparalleled maturity. She was able to discuss advanced topics from her upper level courses in a way that seemed more befitting a graduate student than an undergraduate. She sees the big picture in terms of her coursework. In addition, I am impressed by her generosity and the strength of her character. Kianna volunteered to hold study sessions for the first year students, despite having mid-terms and finals herself at the time. It is inspiring to know there are students like Kianna at BU!