Nora Doerr-MacEwen

My experience as a Trudeau Scholar was extremely positive. Of course, the financial support provided by such a scholarship is valuable to a doctoral student. However, there are other aspects of this unique scholarship program from which I benefited as well. Because of the travel funding provided, I was able to travel to other countries for my research, through which I acquired a greater understanding of environmental practices throughout the North America and Europe. The scholarship allowed me to meet participants in my research face to face, which in turn provided for in-depth discussions and an understanding I would not have been able to acquire through mere telephone and e-mail contact. Furthermore, I was able to share my research with the international community directly, through the numerous conferences I participated in.
Furthermore, I found my interactions with the community particularly valuable in allowing me to share my thoughts and receive feedback from scholars whose research often differed greatly from mine. As my background is in the natural sciences, and several of my committee members are natural scientists, I find it easy to look at environmental issues from a scientific perspective. My interactions with other Trudeau Scholars, Fellows, and Mentors has given me a new and different perspective. It has helped me to ask questions from the perspective of the social sciences. I feel that being able to address the management of pharmaceuticals in the environment from both a natural scientific and a social scientific perspective has added value to my research, and has enhanced both its breadth and its depth.