by Giulliana Micheletto
Ethel Wai, a 2018 recipient of the Future Aces scholarship, holds a degree in Biology and a minor in English from the University of British Columbia, is currently spending a gap year gaining valuable research experience in the microbiology lab at the British Columbia Children’s Hospital.
When looking back to high school, Wai sees that life’s twists and turns can lead to unexpected discoveries. “If I could tell my grade 12 self to stop stressing so much, I would.”
She thought she wanted to do medicine, but once she got to university, she took a lot of courses that exposed her to the different types of biology. Ecology, surprisingly, stood out to her, a field she hadn’t anticipated given her dislike for math in high school. This unexpected shift, which she now describes as pieces falling into place, sparked her deeper exploration of environmental science and ultimately her understanding of climate change’s impact on marine life.
That interest in leadership was evident throughout her university years, as she worked as a course facilitator and orientation leader, gaining skills that inspired her to pursue a youth mentoring role at a Canadian environmental non-profit organization.
“There I am not only giving back to future generations but also to current times and policies, all while I get to explore my passion for mentorship, conservation and environmental justice.”
Wai finds the most rewarding aspect of environmental work to be the exchange of ideas and the sparking of curiosity among her colleagues.
“The idea that the research I put in my work would give us a better idea of climate and alleviate the stress that we have in our day to day lives is really something.”
Ethel Wai plans to return to university this year to pursue a Master’s in Ecology and Evolution, a field she hopes will enrich her understanding of how algae species are adapting to a changing world.