MONTREAL— A former Cochranite has been selected as the 2020 Order of the White Rose Scholarship recipient.
Brielle Thorsen received the $30,000 scholarship on Thursday (Dec. 3) in a virtual ceremony. The scholarship marked a significant milestone as Thorsen, a member of the Saddle Lake Cree Nation, is the first Indigenous scholar to win the award.
It was a humbling and surprising experience to be the first Indigenous woman to win the scholarship.
“I know so many amazing Indigenous women studying engineering or that are engineers,” Thorsen said.
The Order of the White Rose Scholarship was established six years ago to commemorate the 14 young women killed in The École Polytechnique massacre on Dec. 6, 1989. The scholarship is awarded annually by the Polytechnique administration to a woman engineering student who intends to undertake graduate studies, master's studies or their Ph.D. in engineering at the institution of their choice.
“We all need to remember the women who came before us, especially the victims and survivors of the Polytechnique tragedy," Thorsen said. "We must all have an equal opportunity to pursue a rewarding career without being the targets of discrimination or violence, regardless of our gender, race, sexuality or religion.”
Growing up in Cochrane influenced how Thorsen saw the world, she said, because she was always looking outside the small town striving to see the bigger picture.
"Overall I had a great experience growing up in Cochrane in the French immersion school system," Thorsen said. "It was great growing up in a small town.”
She attended French Immersion from Kindergarten to Grade 11. After completing Grade 11 at Cochrane High she moved to an independent high school in Calgary to focus on rowing in 2015. Since then she has not been in Cochrane regularly.
“I loved growing up in Cochrane, but there was a lot of discrimination,” Thorsen said. “I experienced racism, and because I present as white, people may not have known that I was Indigenous. But, I heard a lot of terrible comments growing up about Indigenous people and it was frustrating.”
Thorsen said the experience drove home her belief that hard work is needed to ensure everyone feels safe and included in their community.
She hopes the experience of students is different now than when she was a youth— But, she noted the impetus lies with all people to ensure all community members feel welcome in their hometown.
Thorsen earned a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering and applied mathematics from Queen's University in Kingston, Ont.
Her studies are focused on researching sustainable energy systems for remote Indigenous communities.
Coming from Alberta, Thorsen said, she grew up immersed in the energy sector, because her father worked in oil and gas. This experience inspired her to take what she knew and apply it to creating a better future.
Thorsen added she is grateful to her parents for fostering her passions and supporting her no matter where her interests took her.
“I want to be a part of the solution and not part of the problem,” Thorsen said. “As global citizens, as Canadians, as Cochranites we have a role in playing in advancing social equity abroad. Our little actions do have an impact.”
Her studies serve as an opportunity to be thoughtful in moving toward de-carbonization in Canada to improve energy efficiency.
Significant progress has been made in STEM for women since 1989 and their representation in the field is increasing. However, Thorsen said, speaking from experience there is still discrimination.
“A lot of times those who identify as female or woman they end up doing the writing portion of work in school and those who identify as men end up doing the more technical side of things,” Thorsen said. “Even though our representation is increasing I think there’s still a lot of work to do in terms of advancing gender equity and gender equality in our institutions and starting to break down those gender norms.”
For now, Thorsen remains focused on working on her thesis. In the future, she hopes to make a positive impact through her work, that helps others and breaks down barriers in STEM and inequity in Canada.
“I’m really hoping to continue work with Indigenous communities across Turtle Island to advance energy sovereignty in communities and work toward energy sustainability,” Thorsen said.
She encourages any little girls considering going into engineering or STEM to do so because it is a beautiful career path with so many amazing things to learn.
“I welcome them with open arms into the profession of engineering if that’s what right for them,” Thorsen said.
