Provincial Engineering & Geoscience Week

2 | W i n n i P E g F r E E P r E S S P R O v I N c I A L E N G I N E E R I N G & G E O S c I E N c E W E E k MagellanAerospace,WinnipegisaleadingCanadian aerospacecompanywithmorethan85yearsof experienceintheglobalaerospaceindustry. Magellanoffersexcitingcareeropportunitiesinavarietyofdisciplines.Weknow thatpersonalandprofessionaldevelopmentisfundamentaltothesuccessofevery individual,andeveryindividualisfundamentaltothesuccessofourbusiness. Whenyou'repartofMagellan,you'repartofateam. Readytolaunchyourcareer? Seewhatopportunitiesawaitat: www.magellan.aero MagellanAerospace,Winnipeg ADivisionofMagellanAerospaceLimited 660BerryStreet,P.O.Box874,Winnipeg,MB R3C2S4 Fax: 2047740195 W ater is life, and nobody has seen that more clearly than Diana Nicholson (P. Eng). For the past two years, the 32-year-old Winnipegger has served as a water sanitation specialist, nicknamed a "watsan," with Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF), an international organization that provides emergency medical aid and services to people affected by conflict, epidemics, disasters or exclusion from health care. While most North Americans take for granted the ability to shower, eat clean food and use a proper toilet, people living in refugee camps, disaster zones and conflict-riddled areas are often denied these basic services. Watsans like Nicholson provide people living in such dire conditions access to clean drinking water and proper waste disposal systems, which immediately improves the population's health and wellness. "I feel strongly about water and sanitation in particular because of the huge impact it has on the world," says Nicholson. "Every day more than 2,000 people die from diarrheal diseases caused by inadequate drinking water, sanitation and hand hygiene. The most frustrating thing is that these Perfect outlet Winnipegger makes a difference overseas With msf By Kathryne Cardwell for the Free Press illnesses are entirely preventable — which is why I work in this field." From a young age, Nicholson felt a "deep desire" to help people — she just needed to find the right outlet. While she was in Grade 10, her high school sponsored her to attend a conference geared at promoting engineering as a career option for women. One of the speakers described her work in underdeveloped countries working in water and sanitation. Nicholson was hooked. Her goals set, Nicholson completed her Bachelor of Engineering at the University of Manitoba in 2006, qualified as Professional Engineer in 2009 and earned a Master of Applied Science from the University of Guelph in 2012. In 2012, she joined MSF. Currently stationed at the Ebola Management Centre in Magburaka, Sierra Leone, Nicholson has also worked in Chad, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Kenya and Indonesia. Her work takes her from home for months at a time, but right now, she wouldn't have it any other way. "I always say that watsan is the most fun position in MSF," says Nicholson. "It's a very interesting mix of working in health centres, camps and communities; we get the best equipment to play with, (such as) pumps, generators, tanks, piping and valves; and we get to do construction on a large scale." These large-scale construction projects include building up to 1,000 latrines or water-treatment plants that produce 600,000 litres of potable water a above left: diana nicholson (third left) with some of the sierra Leone doctors Without Borders team. above: nicholson hugs her friend rob in sierra Leone. MSF photos

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