Team:OLS Canmore AB CA/Team
Our Team
| The Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Academy IGEM team is a Canadian team hailing from Canmore Alberta, a small mountain town located 4296 feet above sea level, where it snows 11 months of the year and where bears, mountain goats, elk and other wildlife are common sights from our labs windows. Our principal regularly must chase elk off our field with a megaphone. This small Catholic school is home to just 70 high school students. Our team this year consists of five grade eleven students, one grade 10 student and two tired teachers. Five of our six team members are female, with 3 team members returning for the second year in a row. Our team is dynamic and is made up of brains, athletes, basket cases, princesses and “criminals”. |
 |
Student Team Members | |
 |
Alina Arvisais - She's beauty, she's grace, and she almost fell on her face while taking this picture. Apart from the fun with teammates, my favourite things about this project include learning just how much work science and computer work can be. Because of iGEM I've had plenty of opportunities to do this through lab work, reasearch, safety, creating a poster, working on the wiki, making a logo, and much much more. Apart from all that, I spend my time rock climbing and training for climbing competitions. |
 |
Maria Buchko - I am a grade 11 student at Our Lady of the Snows. I dance, play lots of sports, and I spend a lot of my life on the internet, and reading pick-up lines. I wish I was Adenine so I could be paired with U. I joined iGem so that I could learn more about science because everyone needs lots of science in their life. Also for the experiences. iGem is a great opportunity to learn new and unique skills, along with being able to connect with many different people. As a Canadian, I can vouch for the fact that we ride moose to school (but only in the winter) and we drink maple syrup all day every day |
 |
Talia Dixon Hello, my name is Talia Dixon. I am a grade 11 student at Our Lady Of The Snows Catholic Academy. I was born and raised in the small town of Canmore, Alberta, Canada. This is my second year participating in IGEM. My jobs in IGEM are poster, wiki, policies and practices, lab work, ethics, and outreach. My other pass-times include debate, student council, social justice, hockey and hand ball. I love IGEM for so many reasons - it has allowed me to learn more then I ever could have out of the curriculum, and has let me meet and grow close to the amazing people on my team. |
 |
Joshua Lamb -I am a grade 11 student who loves learning and applying science to the real world. This is why I joined iGem - I love science! This year I am taking all of the sciences in pursuit of the subject that i enjoy the most. I am also British and like to think that I have good fashion sense. |
 |
Erika Maier -My name is Erika Maier. I was born and raised here in Canmore. I am 14 years old and in grade 10 - which makes me the youngest student on our iGEM team. My hobbies consist of sports ranging from volleyball to track and field, and basketball to handball. I am a nerd for math and enjoy reciting and memorizing digits of pi. |
 |
Freya Morgan I am a grade 10 student from Britain that moved from the Motherland in 2009. I’ve been to 7 different schools, in 3 different countries. I have not lost my Britishness as I drink tea and eat crumpets everyday while watching Doctor Who and reading Harry Potter. I do competitive dance, have participated in RAD Ballet exams, and tap dance everywhere. I joined iGem because science is my favourite subject at school (because it is super awesome), and because many opportunities can arise from this experience. I love iGem because it is really cool, getting to do really awesome lab work, and I can see what other people my age around the world are doing, as well as university students. |
Teachers | |
 |
Mr. Arvisais "Hair today gone tomorrow" - that is pretty much our mission this year. Think of the millions of tons of chicken feathers and hair annually that could be broken down to a more resourceful state (closer to their amino acids). I think that this may be the first picture that I have ever worn a wig for. I probably should have put on a green wig to bring out the colour of my eyes through my 3D glasses. Cheers in Boston! |
 |
Mrs. Puurunen I'm a mother, biology/special education teacher, technology enthusiast, semi-pro (read: recreational) mountain biker, and a general grumpypants. iGEM has been even more exciting and exhausting in year 2 - I feel like we have all learned so much! Pretty soon we won't even need my chart paper drawings posted all over the lab. I'm hoping our project works so well that I'm bald by the time we touchdown in Boston. |
We would also like to thank our mentors: Dr. Magda Pop, Lisa Oberding, and Dan Ziemianowicz for all their help throughout the year. Without them, our iGEM experience would not have been this positive, and we certainly would not have learned as much.