Before Quest University graduating students can don their mortarboards, they have one big step left.
For the past four years, pupils in this year's graduating class have travelled, researched and conducted experiments in the search for answers to their questions. As a part of their Quest degrees, every student must come up with a two-page proposal on a topic of interest to the student. Throughout their time at the university, students investigate the subject and they present their findings in their final year.
"They literally pick anything they want," university spokesperson Dee Raffo said. "[The presentations] jump from social empowerment to mathematics."
On Saturday (April 27), starting at 10 a.m., a selected group of Quest students will present their findings. Quest officials have invited the community to attend. While the projects have an academic component, they take a variety of forms, Raffo said. Some are written works, while another could be presented as an art piece or musical composition.
"In my mind it is almost like a little TEDx," Raffo said. "It is the next generation of thought-provoking leaders."
The presentations include everything from a look at the World Health Organization's definition of an "improved" water source, to the evolving culture behind female participation in one-night stands, to a play that examines the meaning of "self" drawing on themes of mathematics and science.
While in Belize with Quest's developmental economics course, Olenka Forde conducted an extensive survey of water quality in two provinces. Both areas received certification from the United Nations Millennial Development for "an improved water supply," yet Forde found levels of bacteria that exceeded health standards in virtually all locations.
Ashley Pearson wrote, directed and produced Nerves of the Heart, a play about the meaning of self. Next year, Pearson will take a Masters program in theatre directing at the University of Essex, in the heart of London's theatre district.
For more information about Quest or the presentations visit www.questu.ca.
