10
view . spring 2009
BEING
INFLUENTIAL
For more UWindsor info, visit
By John Carrington
YOUR UNIVERSITY
–
UWindsor alumni, donors and friends making a difference
A French language
and political
science major with a minor in
German, who came to the University
of Windsor with no plans for a career,
now says he is looking into a future
full of opportunity.
Konrad Niec graduated from
the French emersion program
at Windsor’s St. Joseph’s High
School. Because of his high marks
he was accepted into UWindsor’s
Outstanding Scholars Program; then
things began to happen.
He spent an academic year on
exchange in Nice, France, and now
speaks French so well he worked
as an interpreter when the Ontario
Premier and a Quebec-based
company announced a wind farm
project on Lake Erie, near Port Alma, Ont. He also tutors
other students. “The Outstanding Scholars Program
matched me with Professor Emeritus Jean-Pierre De Villers,
and it has been amazing for me,” Niec says.
“I get paid, but it’s not really work. It is really fun.
He forced me to talk with him on many topics, not just
academics. He corrected me and that gave me a commitment
to improve and the courage to speak,” adds Niec.
“Keeping and improving your French when you live
in the Windsor area is very difficult,” he says. “There
are so few opportunities to use it. With the Outstanding
Scholars Program, I was speaking French and improving
every day.”
Working with Dr. De Villers,
Niec also expanded his knowledge
and enjoyment of French literature,
discovering futurist ideas and
existentialist writers. Because he
had become fluent in Polish from
his parents, he was able to translate
Polish futurist poetry for De Villers.
Now, with a command of three
languages and an improving grasp
on a fourth (German), he is thinking
about international opportunities
in journalism, business and
government service.
The Outstanding Scholars
Program at UWindsor began in
2002 and is unique among Ontario’s
universities. More than 200 top
students are accepted in first year.
The program is geared to those students who have the
potential to become leaders in their academic field during
their four years at the University.
Along with their scholarship, students are mentored
during their first year of studies. If they keep their marks
up, they become eligible to undergo training at the
beginning of the second year to work closely with faculty
on various academic projects. Working in laboratories and
on special projects, the Outstanding Scholars gain a deeper
understanding of their subjects and the opportunities that
can emerge from their studies.
For environmental engineering student Jingmiao Shi,
the Outstanding Scholars Program provides opportunities
OUTSTANDING SCHOLARS. OUTSTANDING OPPORTUNITIES.
Outstanding Scholar Konrad Niec.
