School just got a little easier

Times Reporter

 

School begins again in just a few short weeks, and for one University of Calgary student it won’t be such a struggle. Rhiannon MacDonnell is the lucky student who won the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Doctoral Fellowship. The award, granted by SSHRC, is one of the tri-council granting agencies in Canada. It’s valued at $20,000 a year for two years, and is awarded on academic achievement.

MacDonnell graduated from Strathmore High School in 2002 and hasn’t stopped since. She is just finishing her eighth year in post secondary and is on the last chapter of her PhD. 

“I am completing my PhD in Management at the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary. I’m classified as a PhD candidate, having completed all program requirements but my dissertation. I do research in consumer and organizational psychology, with a particular interest in pro-social consumer behavior,” said MacDonnell.

She was also awarded the Izaak Walton Killam Doctoral Scholarship. The award is granted by the Killam Trust and is based on the University of Calgary’s Open Scholarship competition.  

“It grants me the title of ‘honorary Killam Scholar’ and is worth $25,000 a year for two years, with a $3,000 research stipend. However, as I am required by the University to hold the SSHRC award, I cannot receive the full Killam amount. So, I will receive a ‘top up’ of $5,000 a year plus the research stipend,” said MacDonnell. 

MacDonnell held a SSHRC award for her masters as well which she completed at the University of Calgary in 2007. 

“I had won before so I knew I was in a good position to win again, but even still I was pumped. Maybe not as much as when I won my masters, because then I was practically beside myself, but it’s exciting stuff,” said MacDonnell. 

All graduate students at the University are required to apply for scholarships and must go through a multiple hurdle selection process first ranked at departmental level.  After making it through the first selection process, all top candidates are put through to the university level where applications are reviewed again and ranked again.  

“There’s pretty much two major competitions every year, ones the internal and one is national,” said MacDonnell.  

MacDonnell said she is basically down to her thesis now, which can take people up to two years to complete. With her new funding she won’t have to worry about the last two years and she won’t have to overextend herself to afford to finish her dissertation. MacDonnell isn’t sure yet where her education is going to take her, but isn’t concerned.   

“I’m kind of torn, I anticipate my career will include a bunch of different things. It will include some component of research, some educational components so I’ll probably teach somewhere.”