Be inquisitive about the world around you, ask lots of questions, and wonder 'Why' about everything.
Mandi Parker, PAg is a graduate from the University of Lethbridge with a BSc in environmental science. Currently, she is the Corporate Sustainability Manager and Contaminated Site Lead at the City of Lethbridge, Alberta. She has 16 years of environmental consulting experience and 5 years of municipal government experience. During the last 21 years, she has supported the Lethbridge College and the University of Lethbridge with their environmental classes with site visits, project data and presentations.
What is your area of study?
BSc Environmental Science (designed my degree as there was not Envi Sci yet in the mid-1990s).
What excites you about science?
I really appreciate connecting science to the things that we do every day and using data to make informed decisions.
What sparked your interest in science?
It was actually a junior high science teacher who did the best experiments in class, Mr. Harry Smith. He made the class interesting and engaging. He helped to draw the inner curiosity out of people.
Tell us about the first time you felt really excited about what you were learning in science.
I had always had a love for the natural environment and remember always wondering WHY? things were the way that they were. I think it was in grade four or five, we were learning about hypotheses' and trying to answer the questions that we came up with. It was fascinating. The experiments/lab sessions from grade 7 into University were always my favorite.
What do you hope to accomplish through your scientific research and/or work?
Being involved in sustainability, I appreciate the answers to the "Why" and sharing those with our organization. Using science to support decisions to drive change, big or small, in the way that we do things, and always continuously improving.
What words of inspiration would you like to share with the next generation of women & girls in science?
Be inquisitive about the world around you, ask lots of questions, and wonder "Why" about everything. The answers are usually rooted in science.