Engineering student does muddy fieldwork (03/08/19)

For Immediate Release

August 19, 2003

EDITOR'S NOTE: The following feature article on the Summer Mentorship Program for Female Students was prepared by the Office of Human Resources. MEDIA CONTACT: Dan Toner, Office of Human Resources, 506-444-5288.

MONCTON (CNB) - A summer assignment with a team studying the Petitcodiac River has given Julie Theriault hands-on experience in engineering, biology, information management, public presentations and field work that included an unplanned 'mud bath'.

"She's been a tremendous help in every aspect of the project including all different types of fieldwork, ranging from drift netting, fyke netting, seine netting, smolt tracking and wildlife monitoring along the riverbanks," said Sherry Sparks, project manager for the Peticodiac River Causeway Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Theriault's mentor for the summer. "One assignment had her beach seine netting along the riverbank. It was pretty sticky and she ended up taking a mud bath."

Both women laugh about the mishap and it clearly hasn't dampened Theriault's enthusiasm for her work.

Andrew McIntyre and Julie Thériault have visited different watershed areas as part of the EIA study area. (Large photo.)

"I've really enjoyed all the fieldwork, even the one where I got a little muddy; it was a blast," said Theriault, a St. Quentin native who will finish her Engineering degree this fall at the Université de Moncton and intends to follow it with a Masters in Environmental Studies. "This job has been a perfect opportunity to combine both my interests, use my engineering skills and learn others."

Theriault is one of almost 40 young women participating in the province's Summer Mentorship Program for Female Students. The program pairs female students with civil servants working in jobs that do not traditionally have large numbers of women.

The program is co-ordinated by the Office of Human Resources with funding provided by the Department of Training and Employment Development. The program has received an exemption from the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission to permit a female-only uptake. Students work for 14 weeks with a mentor who supports, guides and challenges the students in developing their skills.

Sparks, a civil engineer with the Department of Supply and Services, has been involved with the program for about a dozen years. Previously her work had centered largely on construction, but as project manager of the EIA assessment, she works with experts from a variety of disciplines.

"We're looking at everything from the engineering aspects, to biology and the impact upon the fish populations, the socio-economic aspects, the history of the river and the views of the local population," Sparks said. "It's been a marvelous learning opportunity for Julie and she's taken on everything that's been asked of her."

Theriault's work ranged from accompanying the field crews on and around the river, to helping with public consultations, to technical work related to presentations.

One highlight was the work Theriault did to assist in preparing a presentation Sparks gave on the Peticodiac River Causeway EIA project to the 31 st Annual Conference of the Canadian Society for Civil Engineering which met this summer in Moncton. She also helped with a tourism-related presentation, put together a reference of key technical terms to ensure consistent translations of documents, helped with a socio-economic workshop and was always ready to get her hands wet and muddy on field work.

"She's terrific, I don't want to lose her but I have to let her go back to school to get more education," Sparks said.

Theriault is equally enthusiastic. She heard about the Summer Mentorship Program for Female Students through a couple of friends who participated in the program. She highly recommends it and says her experiences this summer have confirmed her interest in combining engineering and environmental disciplines.

"It's been positive in every way, the work, the crews, the presentations …it was really a lot of fun," she said.

More information on the Summer Mentorship Program for Female Students is available online at: http://www.gnb.ca/0163/intern/mentor-e.asp.