By the time Hailey Musselman was in Grade 10 she was already a certified math and science whiz.
And then while surfing the internet she had a notion she could aim even higher with her natural ability to learn, and learn and learn more and still more.
“It wasn't like it was a burst of light from the sky,” said the 18-year-old Sundre native. ”But engineering was everything I liked about math, the problem solving. Science and math were always my favourite subjects. It also offered career options.”
Today the world is wide open for Musselman. She is in her first year in the engineering faculty at the University of Alberta.
And the young woman is there with the status of a scholastic celebrity. Musselman is truly in a league with the very best.
The local teen, a graduate of Sundre High School, has been awarded the University of Alberta's
President's Citation Scholarship (PCS), one of the institution's most prestigious honours. It is worth $25,000 over four years. Musselman and other top students, professors and staff were honoured recently at the annual University of Alberta Celebrate! Teaching, Learning and Research at the institution's Myer Horowitz Theatre.
She earned it by having a minimum average of 95 per cent throughout high school.
“I'm so happy. It is exciting,” she said. “It is a little stressful. I have to keep my GPA (Grade Point Average) at 3.5. They don't give the $25,000 all at once. They spread it out. I need the 3.5 average to continue getting it in the second, third and fourth years.”
If winning the PCS was not enough, Musselman also earned several other awards and scholarships, including the Governor General's Bronze Medal for academic excellence at the secondary school level, the $2,500 Alexander Rutherford Scholarship for achieving an 80 per cent or higher through grades 10 to 12, and an additional $8,500 from the faculty of engineering. If she keeps her GPA at 3.5 or better it increases to $16,000 over four years.
While the awards and money will certainly help her through the rigours of university living, Musselman is aware she is now on a challenging academic journey.
“It is very busy and definitely more challenging than high school,” she said. “But I feel I am in more control now that I have worked out how to manage my time.
“I've also got to know people in the engineering department and it has helped a lot with assignments,” she added, noting it was difficult in the early weeks of her first semester to critique her performance.
“A lot of marks here are curved and I can't compare myself with others,” she said. “But I did get my first mark in chemistry and it was a 91 per cent. There were 411 students in the class and only about 10 got more than 90. I was happy about that.”
In the meantime, life among the best of the best at university is not restricted to just books. Musselman has joined the ski club on campus. She also practices yoga and is an enthusiastic dodgeball player.
“It (dodgeball) is a huge thing in residence. It is really fun. It's a social thing,” she said, adding yoga has always been important to her. “I did it in Sundre and I loved it.”
As for Sundre, she is proud to be a home town girl despite her move to Edmonton. When the school year is finished she is coming back for the summer.
“That the plan for now,” she said. “I'm not sure what I will be doing yet.”
However, it is a safe bet Musselman will excel once again at whatever she chooses to do.
