Grant Legaree is a role model in his own right, with enough academic accolades and volunteerism to earn himself a prestigious 2016 Schulich Leader Scholarship.

Grant Legaree with his sister Meredith

But the 18-year-old from the small town of Atikokan, Ont., is quick to redirect the spotlight to his own role model: his sister, Meredith, who succumbed to cancer last summer.

She inspired her younger brother to pursue a career in pharmacy, as she did. Legaree is set to begin his first year in the Faculty of Science at the U of M this fall.

“I’ve always looked up to Meredith. I wanted to be just as good as her,” he says. “When she would come home from the University of Waterloo she would talk about her classes with passion and excitement.”

Legaree is one of two incoming U of M students to be awarded the prestigious scholarship. His teachers at Atikokan High School attest to his natural leadership skills. They say he’s always had a strong work ethic and excelled at his schoolwork, athletics, and extra-curricular activities. He was the top student in his class throughout his high school career; he participated in four competitive sports; he was the leader of a grueling outdoor education program; and he worked a part-time job as a lifeguard.

It was his sister’s battle with melanoma that moved Legaree to give back. He was part of a team that raised $8,000 for melanoma awareness and research as part of the Strides for Melanoma Walk of Awareness. He hopes to use his future career in pharmacy as another way to give back to the community.

Legaree participating in Outers, an outdoor education program for high school students in Atikokan, Ont.

“I want to be able to work in the more rural areas of Manitoba or Northern Ontario for my career and I want to make a difference,” says Legaree. “Our community and other Northwestern Ontario towns have trouble recruiting professionals so I think that would be a good way to give back.”

Legaree says Meredith’s struggle taught him a lot about life, and it brought their family together.

“My sister’s cancer was a battle that involved our whole family. She had to travel for treatment and my mom went with her. Eventually my Dad went as well,” says Legaree. “She fought very hard to not let it get her down. She tried to surround herself with people who could help her smile and we all tried to remain positive and look forward. Meredith was determined to live a full life and she was a great person to ask for advice. She was a very hard worker and she even went back to school when she was still weak from treatment. However, she also reminded me that you need to have some fun in life as well. I have really learned how important my family is to me.”

The Legaree family

Their support continues to inspire Legaree.

“I really look up to all of my family. They were each great role models for me in many different ways,” he says. “My mom is the most caring person I know. My Dad knows a little bit about everything and has taught me that it is okay to be different. My sister Paige and brother-in-law Brad have taught me to balance a crazy life and to enjoy the outdoors. My whole family is always encouraging me to help keep me at my best.”

This year, more than 1,500 students from across Canada competed for a Schulich Leader Scholarship. Philanthropist and business leader Seymour Schulich launched the $100 million program in 2012 to support incoming undergraduate students pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math. To date, 10 Schulich scholars have enrolled at the University of Manitoba.

The prestigious Schulich Leader Scholarships go to a mere 50 incoming university students across the country. Among the 2016 recipients to receive an $80,000 award: Viktor Popp, who is set to begin his studies in the Faculty of Engineering at the U of M this fall.

Growing up on a farm near Erickson, Man., Popp trained prized steers, he’d give names like Maverick and Goose (after Top Gun characters) and loved exploring the wide-open prairies.

The aspiring biosystems engineer maintains high grades while doing volunteer work that builds a sense of community in his hometown. He helped run a 4-H Fun Day, teaching kids about animals and agriculture. And he co-organized Pink the Rink, decking out his entire varsity hockey team in jerseys, socks and tape the colour of bubble gum in honour of those fighting cancer.

His teachers say he’s an exceptional student, one who’s not afraid to step outside his comfort zone. (For a Grade 11 biology project Popp sang a song about the respiratory system to the tune of Pink Floyd’s Money.)

 UM Today caught up with the 18-year-old, who reveals his secret talent, the dangers of horseback riding and the truth about hockey goalies.

Why farm life is great:
Being on the farm, you’re kind of separate from the hustle—whether that be traffic or all the buildings and concrete. If a cow is calfing at one o’clock in the morning and having problems you have to deal with it right now. It’s an around-the-clock job. The biggest thing I’ve learned living on the farm is to be diligent and do a job correctly the first time. Don’t rush things. Take it slow. Be methodical.

Why he won’t ride a horse:

I fell off a horse one time, going quite fast. I wasn’t hurt but it rattled me. I want to say I was 6 or 7. Maybe I’m not a true cowboy because I didn’t get back on. That’s not really a cool moment … A cool moment for me was breaking my first 4-H animal. Breaking means you have to teach them to lead. Being only eight years old, the animal is quite a lot bigger than you. They’re scary; they move around. My first steer was named Pirate cause it had a goggle—the face was white and he had a red circle around his eyes. And I was really into Pirates of the Caribbean at the time too.

Popp and his dad fishing in Stuart Lake. “That was a Jack. Or a Northern Pike if you want to sound more fancy. It’s going to be tough moving away from home next year.”
 // Photo by Katie Chalmers-Brooks

Why he wants to be an engineer:
I’m very analytical. I love math. I love physics.

His first design project:

When I was around 10, my dad ran over my sister’s bike. It was busted and we turned it into a unicycle. I like to create things. You have to see beyond the facts and try to find—I don’t want to sound cheesy—but find the beauty in things that can be fixed and made into something else.

His special talent:
I can solve the Rubik’s cube but I think a lot of people can solve the Rubik’s cube and I’m not even that fast.

What people say about him being a hockey goalie:
There is a stigma that goalies are a little weird and when you get to the heart of it—this is me going on a rant—everybody’s weird. You can’t really say, ‘Well, they are normal.’ What is normal?

His nickname:

A couple of kids on my hockey team call me ‘Mom’ because I’m always the reasonable one. I’m always the one that says: ‘Don’t say that. Don’t do that. We need to be on time. Just settle.’

Good advice he’s received:

Now that I’m going into university, a lot of people have told me to take my time. Don’t rush through. It’s not about finishing as fast as you can.

For the Pink the Rink, Popp played in honour of his aunt, a breast cancer survivor. “She thought it was cool.”
 Photo by Katie Chalmers-Brooks

Why he’s a clean freak:

I like things to be organized. Like, when I work I first make sure my laptop is not at an angle with the table. I know that sounds weird. I like things to be square maybe. And my room is neat. I can’t work in an environment that is cluttered.

Who he looks up to:

Both my parents. Everyday when I came home from school, they were both home. My parents have always been there, supporting me. I don’t want to say they didn’t push me but they weren’t the parents that would ever tell me I need to play really well at a hockey game or I need to do really well on a test.

It’s odd for an older sibling to say but I definitely look up to my younger sister. She is very calm with everything she does. She is very good with animals—maybe that’s where it comes from.

How he sees himself:

Responsible. Reliable. Punctual—it sounds like I’m bragging.
 Analytical, I guess. And someone who tries hard at what they do. I don’t really take things on if I know I can’t commit to them. But don’t quote me on that, I’m still learning.

This year, more than 1,500 students from across Canada competed for a Schulich Leader Scholarship. Philanthropist and business leader Seymour Schulich launched the $100 million program in 2012 to support incoming undergraduate students pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math. To date, 10 Schulich scholars have enrolled at the University of Manitoba.

When the weekend rolls around, friends ask Dennis Drewnik if he wants to come along to a movie or hang out at their place.

“Sorry guys,” the 17-year-old tells them. “I have to do a DNA extraction.”

The brainy teen—who hasn’t yet earned his driver’s licence—has been doing world-class research at the University of Manitoba for years. He’s trying to figure out how to genetically modify the canola plant to make it more resistant to a fungus that wreaks havoc and costs the agriculture industry up to $2 billion annually.

Already he’s identified the genes that play a role, and his findings made him the winner of the top plant sciences project in the world at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair last month. He faced off against 57 other projects.

“When they called my name, it was a crazy feeling,” says Drewnik, who was flanked by his Team Canada peers. “I was screaming at the top of my lungs—I lost my voice.”

The Grade 12 Sisler High School student is set to formally begin studies at the U of M this fall. He says it was an easy choice since the campus feels like home.

(L-R) Mark Belmonte, Dennis Drewnik and Michael Becker.

Up to five times a week you’ll find him in the lab of biological sciences Associate Prof. Mark Belmonte, who used to teach Drewnik’s older sister, Elizabeth. She first told him about her brother’s fascination with all-things science five years ago and through the Sanofi Biogenius Canada challenge, Drewnik got the chance to experience research first-hand. The program pairs high school students with scientists in professional labs to develop research projects to present at competitions.

“Prof. Belmonte is a big inspiration,” says Drewnik, who considers himself “a high school student researcher” and one day wants to be a professor.

He says he got some strange looks when at only 13 he would hang out at the campus’ Elizabeth Dafoe Library. Genetics first caught his eye when he was snooping through his sister’s cell biology textbook. He also took part in the Biomedical Youth Program—a Rady Faculty of Health Sciences’ outreach research experience for school-aged kids in which his sister volunteered.

In Belmonte’s lab, Drewnik says he’s not only learned about the molecular genetics of plants but also specialized techniques, and how to overcome challenges when experiments fail.
According to Belmonte, Drewnik “can do everything—from computational biology and analyzing large-scale data sets all the way through to molecular biology.”

“It’s really important as academics that we give back to the community,” Belmonte says. “One of the things I strive to do is to give students the opportunities that I never had.”

Teens can also work alongside U of M professors in preparation for the Manitoba Schools Science Symposium held on campus every April. And once they enroll as university students, they can apply for a federal government scholarship or a U of M Undergraduate Research Award, which lets them choose a professor to be mentored by for a summer in the lab or in the field. The Office of the Vice-President (Research and International) awarded a record 102 this year.

“It gets students excited about real research,” Belmonte says. “It’s not just about science being taught in the classroom, we’re solving real-world problems at the U of M.”

Drewnik’s long-term research goal is to create a crop that is resistant to pathogens to better feed a skyrocketing global population.

“To basically save the world,” he jokes.

Drewnik’s long-term research goal is to create a crop that is resistant to pathogens.

Drewnik received guidance from PhD student Michael Becker, who won the prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship last year.

“We bounced ideas off each other and I started using his old data sets,” says Drewnik, who is more likely to be reading an academic journal than his favourite sci-fi thriller.
“Everything I say or do in the lab is followed up by a question. Michael challenged me to the point where I have learned so much more about my project than I would have just going through the research alone.”

Becker says having high school students like Drewnik in the lab brings a fresh perspective. “They don’t see the limitations. They see a lot of opportunities and what could be,” he says. “The world is still big to them and everything is still new.”

Becker inspired Drewnik to take online courses in bioinformatics and data analysis. He was pleased Drewnik’s win put U of M canola research on the international stage.
“It’s really interesting to see a canola project winning a global science fair,” Becker says. “A lot of people don’t know it was developed here at the University, quickly becoming  Canada’s number one crop and expected to exceed the global production of rice by 2025.”

Drewnik has collected $17,000 this year in science fair wins at various levels, which he says he’ll put towards his university education. Apart from money, his international victory has secured him a ticket to the Nobel Prize Award Ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden in December. An asteroid will also be named after him—he’s decided to call it ‘The Drewnik.’

“It’s going to be very cool.”