Congratulations to these Spring 2022 Graduates who have worked with the AWP this past year!

Congratulations to Christine Kuo for graduating with her BA in International Relations and a Minor in Applied Animal Biology! Christine began her involvement with the AWP after taking her first APBI course and then did a practicum at the UBC Dairy Farm. Inspired by these experiences, then completed a directed study and held a Work Learn position with the AWP over the past year. Christine’s love for animals began at a young age as her family kept backyard chickens, which later inspired her to work in the animal welfare field including evaluating third-party animal welfare certifications, survey work, and policy work. Christine has found a way to blend her interests in international relations and animal welfare through these different experiences. She is going to be an animal welfare intern at Merck Animal Health this summer, and then will be returning to the AWP to work on a project on cull dairy cow transport.

Congratulations to Jillian Hendricks for graduating with her BSc in Applied Animal Biology (Honours)! Jillian began her involvement with the AWP as an Undergraduate Research Assistant. She has worked on several different research projects, focusing on projects related to the attitudes of different members of the community, on contentious issues within the dairy industry, including surplus calf management and gene editing. Her work on public perceptions of potential adaptations for mitigating heat stress on Australian dairy farms can be found here. These projects involved working with veterinarians, farmers, and members of the public. Jillian is from White Rock, BC and grew up riding horses – she initially wanted to go to veterinary school but is now looking forward to starting a PhD in Veterinary Sciences at the University of Bristol focusing on how hunger due to feed restriction affects dairy cows and calves emotionally. 

Congratulations to Lauren Clarke for graduating with her BSc in Applied Animal Biology. Lauren has been involved in the AWP since her second year as a Work Learn student and has been a part of a variety of different areas including supporting research through coding videos, and working hands-on in a mouse enrichment welfare study. Lauren is from Courtenay, BC but has lived in the UK, Azerbaijan, and the US and has always been passionate about advocating for animals. Her favourite memory at UBC is working on a project for one of her classes which aimed to understand the distribution of coyotes in Stanley Park and getting to monitor camera traps. Lauren hopes to continue to work in a field where she can continue to learn about and advocate for animal welfare. More information on Lauren and her time in her Work Learn position for the AWP can be found here.

Congratulations to Tatiana Chambers for graduating with her BSc in Applied Animal Biology! Tatiana joined the AWP early this year working as a support assistant on various animal welfare projects, helping investigate the effects of anxiety-reducing medication on shelter animals in order to improve shelter practices. Growing up in Toronto, Tatiana has always loved animals, and she knew coming into university that she wanted to pursue a career in veterinary medicine. Tatiana is now working full-time in a veterinary clinic in Toronto with the intention to apply to veterinary school in 2023, receive her DVM, and open her own clinic, and in doing so, improve racial diversity in the field. 

Maya graduated with her BSc in Applied Animal Biology (Honours). She began her involvement in the AWP as an Undergraduate Research Assistant, where she came to realize her passion for laboratory animal welfare. She has worked on a variety of research projects relating to environmental enrichment and euthanasia refinement for laboratory rodents. Recently, she completed her undergraduate thesis on the effects of positive reinforcement training on mouse anxiety. She was born and raised in Vancouver, BC and enjoys spending her free time outdoors with animals. She is continuing within the AWP as a recipient of the NSERC Undergraduate Research Award and aspires to begin her MSc in Applied Animal Biology at UBC.  

Congratulations to Samantha Fuller for graduating with her BSc in Applied Animal Biology. Samantha’s undergraduate thesis investigated the public attitudes toward rodeo events in Canada. She also wrote a research essay outlining how animal welfare principles can be used in a two-eyed seeing framework for more inclusive wildlife management in Indigenous communities. Moving forward, Samantha is looking to continue research with wild animals with One Health and Indigenous perspectives.