She shoots, she scores

Kaitlyn McNutt, a Dal Tiger and engineering student, has been named one of the top five engineering students in Canada. (Nick Pearce Photo)

Leader. Volunteer. Mentor. Fourth-year chemical engineering student Kaitlyn McNutt embodies all of these.

Because of her dedication to her studies and community, Ms. McNutt has been named one of the top five engineering students in Canada by the Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation (CEMF). The honour is part of the CEMF scholarship given to stand-out women who inspire others.

“It's an amazing award and a great feeling to be recognized from so many successful students across Canada,” says Ms. McNutt. “I’m very proud of the engineering profession and grateful to the Canadian Engineering Memorial Foundation for recognizing the accomplishments of today’s students and helping fund our education.”

Having two professional engineers for parents, she aspired to be an engineer from an early age. They encouraged her interest in science and her passion for extracurricular activities, traits she applied to her university career.

Ms. McNutt, has been a delegate at the Global Youth Leadership Conference in Europe and served on the Dalhousie Student Affairs Committee and Athletics Council. She is most proud, however, of being named a Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS) Academic All-Canadian.

“I'm especially pleased to be a CIS Academic All-Canadian as it was a personal goal and a major accomplishment,” says Ms. McNutt, assistant captain of the Dalhousie women's varsity hockey team. “As an engineering student with a demanding workload, playing a two-semester sport, it’s tough to become an academic All-Canadian,” she adds.

Ms. McNutt was inspired to become more active in her community after travelling to the Dominican Republic and Peru while in high school. Her group not only raised money for the entire voyage, but worked on environmental initiatives benefiting poor regions, such as an irrigation project. She remembers fondly being embraced by the local communities, sharing their way of life and realizing how happy they were, despite the impoverished conditions. “I think I benefited from the experience as much as the communities,” she says. 

Despite training year round, playing varsity hockey, intramural ultimate Frisbee, broomball and squash, Ms. McNutt always makes time to volunteer. “It’s extremely rewarding to be involved (in the community),” she says. “It helps enhance the lives of people around us by making our communities better places to live and makes people feel better about themselves while introducing them to a whole new network of friends.”

Currently on a co-op placement in Calgary with Shell, the 21 year-old Ottawa native will return to Dalhousie in the fall to complete her final year of study. While she hopes to return to school one day for her MBA, Ms. McNutt plans to take a few months off after graduation to backpack through Europe with her brother and sister--the McNutt Sibling Tour as she calls it.

The CEMF was founded in 1990 to develop scholarship and award programs that encourage women to choose engineering as a career to honour the memory of the 14 women at Ecole Polytechnique whose contributions to Canada ended on December 6, 1989.