 |
 Kateryna (Katia) Keefer
“I am a Trent grad all the way,” says Kateryna (Katia) Keefer proudly. With an undergraduate degree in Psychology and Business Administration from Trent already under her belt, this international student recently added a master’s degree in the Applications of Modelling in the Natural & Social Sciences (AMINSS) to her Trent repertoire. Looking back on her decision to come to Trent, Katia says it was the University’s strong and unique international reputation and the reputation of Jack Matthews, founding director of the Trent International Program, that led her to Peterborough. “As the founding director of Lester B. Pearson University World College in British Columbia, Jack Matthews brought the UWC ideals to Trent, establishing it as an institution dedicated to promoting international understanding through liberal arts-and-science education in a community of mutual respect,” she says, explaining that, as a graduate of the Atlantic UWC in Wales, she saw the connection of UWC spirit and values with Trent. Always an outstanding student with a talent for balancing academics with extra-curricular activities, Katia took full advantage of getting involved in student life. Throughout her undergraduate years, she competed on Trent’s varsity fencing team, and during her graduate studies she was involved in student government as the AMINSS program executive on the Graduate Student Association executive. Under the supervision of her mentor, Professor James Parker, Katia explored developmental trends and issues in measuring Emotional Intelligence (EI) among children and adolescents in her master’s thesis. “I examined the impact of developmental change on the psychometric properties of a self-report EI questionnaire, with the goal of advancing our understanding of the trajectories, antecedents, and outcomes of emotionally competent functioning,” she explains. For her remarkable academic achievements at the master’s level, Katia was awarded one of the inaugural President’s Medals at Convocation. In commenting on the creation of the new award, Katia says, “This award could not be more timely in recognizing the top quality of the research conducted at Trent and the unique opportunities provided by Trent's graduate programs.” In terms of future goals, Katia has high aspirations. She sees herself following her passions for research and teaching to hopefully become a university professor one day. Taking another step towards that goal, Katia is currently enrolled as a Ph.D. candidate in the Trent-Queen’s Ph.D. program. “I hope that some day I can pass on to my own students everything I have learned from my many teachers at Trent,” she says.
|
Kyiv, Ukraine