In Memoriam Laura Krajewski

Laura Krajewski, a former Biology student who was currently working at the RGASC, died unexpectedly over the weekend as the result of a tragic hiking accident.

Laura was an active member of our Biology community and we wanted to provide you with some more background information, for those that didn’t get the chance to know her.

Laura recently completed her HBSc at UTM and over the years established herself as a key member of the campus community by working in wide variety of student support roles across campus. She worked most recently at the Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre (RGASC) as the Front Office and Communications Assistant where she simultaneously served as the first point of contact for all visitors, office administrator, and communications officer.  Laura recently was accepted to Graduate School (OISE) and was overjoyed to be starting a new phase in her career.

During her time in Biology, Laura, a singer and guitar player, published two songs about science. Here is an excerpt about this from a 2016 feature on the UTM website: “Her science song, The Sound of Mitosis, co-written with associate professor of biology Fiona Rawle, was published in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education. Another song, Our Experiment, written for the statistics class taught by associate professor of biology Helene Wagner, took top prize in the 2015 A-μ-Sing (A Mu Sing) songwriting competition for the United States Conference on Teaching Statistics.” Laura also completed a BIO400 internship with Steven Chatfield and an ROP project with Marc Laflamme.

As an undergraduate student at UTM, Laura was extremely active on campus. She volunteered for Let’s Talk Science, visiting local schools and Girl Guide groups to lead science workshops for children and volunteered with the RGASC’s Facilitated Study Group Program. In recognition of her remarkable contributions to campus life she was awarded both the Gordon Cressy Student Leadership Award and the Principal’s Involvement Award.

Laura was passionate about supporting students and her contributions to the Centre for Student Engagement, RGASC, and student life at UTM as a whole will be felt for many years to come. She will be sorely missed. Her warmth, smile and genuine kindness were at the centre of who she was and anyone who interacted with her could not help but come away feeling a little more positive about the situation and themselves.  Laura’s fostering of a passionate and caring community will continue to be her legacy.

All are invited to join a nature walk to celebrate Laura on Friday, March 8, 2019. The group will meet at the front of the RAWC at 4:00 p.m. for a one-hour walk led by Nikki Robichaud from the Department of Recreation, Athletics & Wellness. Dress appropriately for all weather conditions. 

Following the walk, the group will be travelling to the visitation together and anyone is welcome. Many drivers have offered to share their cars for car-pooling.

Visitation information:

Friday March 8

5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

Turner and Porter Funeral Home

2180 Hurontario Street (just south of the Queensway) Mississauga

905-279-7663