UNews - specialist

Award winner Kopp eager to make difference

trevor.kenney — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 22:10:13 +0000

For Alexandria (Ally) Kopp, travel has been a consistent theme throughout her entire life.

At just three-months old, her parents took her on her first international excursion to Hawaii. In Grade 4, the family spent a month in Mexico and shortly thereafter, toured across Canada with a Boler trailer in tow. When she was 12, they backpacked around Costa Rica, and just last year, Kopp spent two months globetrotting in Europe.

Although the sites she's visited are vast, the lessons she's gained have a common thread.

"Since I was little, my parents helped me realize how fortunate I am in my life," says Kopp. "Since then, I have sought the opportunity to travel and help others."

Nursing student Ally Kopp, pictured with Malawi student Seleman, was a recipient of the YMCA Peace Medal.

In her third year as a nursing student in the Faculty of Health Sciences, Kopp was one of 18 students selected to go on a month-long field study to Malawi with the goal of conducting culturally relevant health promotion activities related to blood pressure, malaria and HIV/AIDS.

While there, she met 19-year-old Seleman at the Chowe School near Mangochi, Malawi.

"At first I noticed how shy and soft-spoken he was. He also had a disability impeding his ability to walk," she recalls. "When I had the chance to talk one-on-one with him, I realized he was very smart and determined. He was fluent in English and dedicated to learning."

Through conversation, Kopp discovered that Seleman had cut his foot and after a resulting infection, could no longer walk. The story resonated with her, and she offered to do whatever she could to help Seleman regain mobility. Word quickly spread about her commitment, and Kopp was able to arrange a visit for Seleman to see a specialist in a hospital more than an hour away.

Unfortunately, nothing medically could be done to help Seleman, but Kopp remained committed to her promise. After returning to Canada, she and her parents wired money to a trusted contact in Malawi for the purchase of a hand-powered wheelchair for Seleman.

In November 2012, Kopp received the Lethbridge YMCA Peace Medal for her work in Malawi, an award that recognizes contributions to peace, understanding and making the world a better place.

"In Malawi, I learned that one individual can have a great impact," says Kopp. "If I could help Seleman have just a little bit better quality of life, then I felt that was something I should do. This trip reaffirmed feelings and beliefs I had before, making me more dedicated and interested in actively seeking further humanitarian-aid opportunities."

This story first appeared in the January 2013 edition of the Legend. To view the full issue in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Creating a space unlike any other

trevor.kenney — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 18:30:45 +0000

The tag line, "If you build it, they will come," doesn't exactly work for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge's Digital Audio Arts (DAA) program. They (as in the students) are already here, and they can't wait for it (the new Digital Audio Arts Studio) to be unveiled.

"It will definitely be the crowning jewel of the program," says Chris Morris, the technical specialist with digital audio arts. "It will be a state of the art recording facility as well as a critical listening and practice facility. It will be a collaborative environment for the Faculty of Fine Arts."

Digital audio arts is in just its second semester. With a full complement of 32 students and a healthy waiting list of applicants, the program is off to a rousing start. Dr. Rolf Boon and Dr. Arlan Schultz started the process six years ago. The program was created with an eye to the future, and students have definitely responded.

"Dr. Boon likes to say, 'We're preparing people for careers in music technology that may not even exist yet,'" says Morris. "Right now we're finding a lot of students are mostly interested in music production and working in a recording studio. But it's not just a music production program – it's defining audio research for the future.
"When you really open your mind, the sky's the limit in terms of what you can do. Media is everywhere and wherever there is media, there's audio, there's sound, so there will always be an opportunity with this kind of degree."

The studio is currently under construction and is scheduled to open in late March or early April. An entirely custom built facility, it has transformed what was once a static, drab, concrete-walled area into a dynamic teaching and recording space complete with hardwood floors, custom speakers and a top shelf audio console.

"Basically the whole place is custom except for the console itself," says Morris.

California-based studio designer Jay Kaufman, a specialist in working with odd spaces, was brought in to recreate the area. The result is a studio that will allow students the opportunity to learn in a professional setting, and similarly attract outside labels and recording artists.

"In terms of post-secondary education, nobody has what we'll have. We're definitely on the cutting edge of everything," says Morris. "It'll position us in a way where this is a showpiece that will attract a lot of attention."

Internally, the studio will benefit the entire faculty. Besides the hands-on learning opportunities for DAA students, new media students will be able to use it for audio work on film, the art department can utilize it for sonic art studies and music students will walk off campus and into the job market with professionally-mastered portfolios.

Externally, Morris says positioning a recording studio in an educational facility
allows recording labels to bring in artists for extended stays, housing them on campus to complete projects quickly. This opens up internship opportunities for DAA students.

"Labels always want to bring their own engineers in to work with their artists," says Morris. "To use the space, it will be mandatory that they take a few of our students as assistant engineers so that they can get experience in the studio with real engineers and real artists."

Already off to a flying start the new DAA studio promises to set the U of L apart from other music programs in the country.

"The first semester of the program was an absolute success," he says. "The feedback from the students has been great, and they love to be able to use the audio research lab we have. Once the new studio is on board, it will be that much better."

GET THE FACTS

• The DAA studio is described as a room within a room within a room. The centre room is pressure-fitted and the entire facility "floats" on neoprene pucks at all points within the concrete cavity of the space.

• The recording area is designed to be completely soundproof with lead-lined walls that are 18 inches deep and floors made of an extra-thick hardwood.

• All the walls, including the glass and the roof, are angled. "There are no parallel walls in the space," says Morris. "It's all about not having any standing waves that would be bouncing back and forth. They'll get scattered in all directions, and therefore create an acoustically sound space."

• The studio's console is the latest from Solid State Logic. The 48-channel Duality allows students to work with both analog and digital audio.

• The entire studio will be connected to the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Recital Hall via 16 channels of audio, a CCTV camera and LCD screens. This allows for the recording of concerts and performances or the use of the hall as a larger recording venue for larger groups of artists, such as orchestras.

Steacy named to Team Canada

trevor.kenney — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:40:51 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge alumnus James Steacy (BASc '09) is one of four Canadian Olympians and 29 athletes in total who have been selected to participate in the 25th Summer Universiade, July 1-12, in Belgrade, Serbia.

A total of 14 female and 15 male athletes will represent Canada at the international event, led by an Olympic foursome that includes hammer thrower James Steacy of Lethbridge, 400-metre specialist Carline Muir of Edmonton, high jumper Michael Mason of Nanoose Bay, B.C., and long jumper Ruky Abdulai of Coquitlam, B.C.

Another Team Canada member, sprinter Richard Adu-Bobie of Orleans, Ont., was an alternate for the Canadian 4x100m relay at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics.

Last summer in Beijing, Steacy became the first Canadian in 84 years to reach the Olympic hammer throw final, finishing in 10th place. Steacy was 13th in the event at the 2007 IAAF world championships and won gold medals in the discipline at the 2007 Pan American Games and the 2005 Jeux de la Francophonie. He holds the national record of 79.13 metres, 2.19m more than the toss which earned Belarus' Aleksandr Vashchyla Universiade gold in 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand.

Steacy is one of the most decorated athletes in CIS track and field history. He was named male rookie of the year in 2002-03, was chosen athlete of the year in field events on four occasions, and in five appearances at the CIS championships with the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns he captured five weight throw titles and won the shot put competition three times. He remained undefeated in the weight throw his entire university career.

Steacy and Mason head a group of nine athletes who have Universiade experience. Steacy competed in the discus in 2005 in Izmir, Turkey, where he placed eighth in the qualifying round and did not advance. Mason jumped his way to ninth place in 2007 in Bangkok.

Canada has tallied 59 athletics medals in its history at the Universiade including four gold, 29 silver and 26 bronze medals.

The Summer Universiade is an international multi-sport event that takes place every two years, and is second only to the Olympic Games in the number of participating athletes and countries. The Universiade is open to competitors between the ages of 17 and 28 in the year of the Games who are full-time students at a post-secondary institution (university, college, CEGEP) or have graduated from a post-secondary institution in the year preceding the event.

Reinhartz featured in Speaker Series

trevor.kenney — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 15:35:55 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Ottawa professor, Dr. Adele Reinhartz, is the featured speaker Wednesday afternoon at the latest edition of the Women Scholars Speaker Series.

Reinhartz will present her lecture, Mary Magdalene Goes to Hollywood, 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. in Anderson Hall (AH100).

A Professor in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Ottawa, Reinhartz is a specialist in the history and literature of Christianity and Judaism in the Greco-Roman period, the Gospel of John, early Jewish-Christian relations, literary criticism including feminist-literary criticism, and the impact of the Bible on popular cinema and television.

Reinhartz joined the McMaster ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ faculty in 1987. She was dean of graduate studies and research at Wilfrid Laurier ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ before being appointed associate vice-president, research at ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Ottawa in 2005. Since 2007, Reinhartz has been developing an Honours Bachelor of Arts and Science program for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Ottawa, in addition to teaching and conducting research in the Department of Classics and Religious Studies at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Ottawa.

In 1997-1998 she was the Canadian Society of Biblical Studies president, and in 2005 she was made a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Lunch will be served with the Reinhartz lecture, which will be followed by a discussion period. The event is free and everyone is welcome to attend.

Any large groups planning on attending should call 403-329-2482 to ensure that there is enough seating and refreshments.

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Award winner Kopp eager to make difference

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