Who are you and where are you from?

I am Diane Adams and I'm originally from Sioux Lookout, Ontario.

What are you studying?

I am studying Environmental Health & Science and Indian Communications Arts at the First Nations University of Canada.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

Helping governments, healthcare workers, scientists and Aboriginal organizations, communicate Health and Science Issues to Aboriginal people in a culturally relevant way... a way that honours both scientific knowledge and traditional understandings about health and the environment.

What makes you successful academically?

Keeping my eyes open for new opportunities asking for help when I need it. In every class, on every assignment, I ask myself ...Why am I learning this, How might this be relevant to my life, to the life of my community, my country, my world? I use those questions to guide what I study, how I answer questions, what I write my papers on. Memorizing information is only a small part of university

What would be your message to those following in your footsteps?

Never dismiss any opportunity. Start your professional career now-- start networking and participating as a professional whenever you can. Knowing how the knowledge you gain in University fits into your career will help you in ways you never knew possible both while you study and when you graduate.

Remember your Professors and everyone around you are the experts at what they do. Ask them for help, ask them for their opinion, ask them for their criticism. Learn to accept constructive criticism. When someone criticizes your work, it's because they see potential for it to be better… for you to be better.

When times get tough and it seems like it will never end, just keep going. It always ends, the next paper, the next semester, summer break and graduation are closer than they feel.

Check out the previous Student Spotlight in the ARCHIVE