Sophia Charlotte Mackeigan won the Jufiyah Rajan Memorial Scholarship in Biology

The Department of Biology is proud to announce that Sophia Charlotte Mackeigan was awarded the Jufiyah Rajan Memorial Scholarship in Biology.

Krystal Nunes, PhD, Postdoctoral Researcher & Sessional Lecturer wrote that Sophia Mackeigan demonstrated an unparalleled understanding of course material, receiving a perfect score on her term test. However, her abilities go beyond assessment performance as she is also engaged in research at UTM . She has achieved high academic standing while persevering through significant personal challenges, and always remains positive and highly engaged. A pleasure to teach!

What it means to win this award on times of pandemic

Thank you so much for choosing me to receive this award! It means so much to me to receive the Roy Ivor Memorial Award in Biology as it reflects all my hard work this year. Adapting to an online format for my second year was a challenge for me. Learning online meant taking more autonomy in my schooling. I relied heavily on my time management skills to balance my heavy workload and my research position. While difficult, this pandemic has given me time to focus on my studies and achieve my academic goals. I am so grateful that my effort has been recognized by the University of Toronto and The Roy Ivor Memorial Award in Biology Fund.

 My goals

I am currently doing a double major in psychology and biology. If I decide to focus more on biology, it is my goal to graduate with an honours Bachelor of Science degree, go to graduate school at UofT for environmental science and then work at a non-profit fighting climate change. If I choose to specialize in psychology, I would like to go to graduate school for clinical psychology and eventually open my own practice working with children.
Sophia Charlotte Mackeigan

Congratulations, Sophia! Looking forward to see what career path you will choose!