It's the season for rewarding academic achievement with accolades and awards but twin sisters with a passion for soil science have drawn a bit more distinction to themselves.
Jessica and Jennifer Nguyen are the first students in the country to break a longstanding tradition of just one prize from the Canadian Society of Soil Science going to each university that has an undergraduate program in soils.
The two new ALES graduates - both with a BSc (ENCS) - tied for the highest grade point average in their land reclamation courses and so the CSSS made an exception and presented each of them with the book award allotted for the University of Alberta.
With each scoring a GPA of 3.8, Jennifer and Jessica both believe that the secret of successful studying is shifting the focus from procrastination to simply planning ahead, to ensure there's enough time to complete assignments.
"For exam studying, what was most effective for us was to write summary notes, which helps you focus on the key concepts and gives you short, concise notes to review before the exam," said Jennifer.
The prestigious honour from a national science body is richly deserved by the two sisters, who were tops among 103 students, said Anne Naeth, professor of land reclamation and restoration ecology in ALES' Department of Renewable Resources.
"They are very energetic, hard-working, exceptionally focused young women," she said. "Very bright. (There are) good career options for them."
Each of the women won a copy of the book Soil Sampling and Methods of Analysis (2nd edition). It's a handbook for sampling and analyzing various soils and their properties with current, comprehensive methods.
Both sisters are going into the field of land reclamation, where soil sampling and analysis will be a large component of their work, so they are delighted to have a handy resource that equips them with the latest technical knowledge available for soil researchers and practitioners.
"Land reclamation is interesting to us because you get to work with the environment, solve problems and facilitate transformation of disturbed lands," said Jessica.
The Canadian Society of Soil Science is a non-governmental, non-profit organization for scientists, engineers, technologists, administrators and students involved in professional soil science.
Jessica and Jennifer Nguyen are the first students in the country to break a longstanding tradition of just one prize from the Canadian Society of Soil Science going to each university that has an undergraduate program in soils.
The two new ALES graduates - both with a BSc (ENCS) - tied for the highest grade point average in their land reclamation courses and so the CSSS made an exception and presented each of them with the book award allotted for the University of Alberta.
With each scoring a GPA of 3.8, Jennifer and Jessica both believe that the secret of successful studying is shifting the focus from procrastination to simply planning ahead, to ensure there's enough time to complete assignments.
"For exam studying, what was most effective for us was to write summary notes, which helps you focus on the key concepts and gives you short, concise notes to review before the exam," said Jennifer.
The prestigious honour from a national science body is richly deserved by the two sisters, who were tops among 103 students, said Anne Naeth, professor of land reclamation and restoration ecology in ALES' Department of Renewable Resources.
"They are very energetic, hard-working, exceptionally focused young women," she said. "Very bright. (There are) good career options for them."
Each of the women won a copy of the book Soil Sampling and Methods of Analysis (2nd edition). It's a handbook for sampling and analyzing various soils and their properties with current, comprehensive methods.
Both sisters are going into the field of land reclamation, where soil sampling and analysis will be a large component of their work, so they are delighted to have a handy resource that equips them with the latest technical knowledge available for soil researchers and practitioners.
"Land reclamation is interesting to us because you get to work with the environment, solve problems and facilitate transformation of disturbed lands," said Jessica.
Added Jennifer: "It's important to the future and to environmental sustainability, so to be able to learn and practise it is a powerful and rewarding opportunity."
The Canadian Society of Soil Science is a non-governmental, non-profit organization for scientists, engineers, technologists, administrators and students involved in professional soil science.