Kristina Penn - Implementing Calls to Action Toward Reconciliation in Graduate Research
Kristina Penn is a PhD candidate in Geography at the University of Calgary. She received an MSc in Geography from the University of Calgary and a BSc in Geography from the University of Toronto. Kristina's doctoral research studies the water balance of Łù’àn Män (Kluane Lake), which is the largest lake in the Yukon Territory. Her study was informed by and addresses the questions of local Kluane residents and First Nation members about water resource security, current water sources for the lake, and future changes in the resource availability and their impacts. Kristina has brought perspectives and lessons from her research to the national and international research communities through participation in an international field school, serving on university faculty and graduate student committees, and as co-chair on an Arctic Observing Summit (AOS) working group. Kristina is currently the Chair of APECS Canada, and Vice-President of Girls* on Ice Canada, where she co-founded the Yukon Expedition.
At the June speaker series, Kristina Penn discusses the process, challenges, and successes of leading a community-based and community-engaged PhD research project in the physical sciences.
Kwanele Siyengo - Navigating my TransD Journey
Kwanele Siyengo is a TILL alumni and peer mentor Alumni with TRANSECTS! She has been fortunate enough to be in the TRANSECTS network for 3 years now and it truly shaped a huge part of her transdisciplinary journey in her personal as well as in her professional life. Though her transdisciplinary journey has not been a smooth one, it has been one that has been connecting dots and lines along the way! Kwanele has a passion for ecology and a strong natural science background from her undergraduate honour’s year. Although she enjoyed this work, she knew something was missing! During her master’s at Rhodes University in South Africa, things took an unexpected but transformative turn when her work focused on Social Learning for catchment management. This shift was very intimidating to say the least, but participation in the first mini TILL cemented her confidence and affirmed the path that she was on in many ways!
Kwanele has since embraced Transdisciplinarity in most of the things that she does and is involved in! She has a deep passion and appreciation for platforms where science education, youth mentorship, and community engagement meet! Kwanele is also an advocate for self-care through her learnings from the TILLS and has since woven these lessons into her personal and professional life. These attributes made her the perfect fit to be the first peer mentor in the 2024 TILL. In this role, she had an incredible time sharing her learning, navigating an intercultural space, and meeting shared responsibility holders doing amazing work in the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere region. Currently, she works as a learning associate with small scale communal farmers, where she continues to practice and promote transdisciplinary approaches!
In this talk, Kwanele reflects on her journey through TRANSECTS and how transdisciplinarity is not linear, even for a TILL alumni. She zooms in on the opportunities and challenges that have come with navigating the transdisciplinary space and being in the TRANSECTS network, highlighting how collaboration across disciplines and communities requires courage and humility. Her reflections offer insights on the importance of continually learning, re learning and unlearning in these dynamic environments we all find ourselves in!
