A Student’s Story: Samantha Quinn (M.Sc. ’20)
With a mission to advance knowledge and apply it to the development of human potential over one's lifespan, research and teaching at the Faculty of Education encompasses both the hard sciences and the social sciences. As a kinesiology graduate student, Samantha Quinn combined the two to explore how nutrition affects the quality of muscles.
“We were trying to see how eating a high-fat diet along with cranberry extract would affect the strength and quality of muscles in comparison to eating a high-fat diet alone,” Samantha explained. “When I finished my bachelor degree and first started my masters, my initial project fell through. This rat and cranberry one presented itself as a great opportunity to keep my supervisor and to collaborate with other universities (in both French and English) while learning a new lab technique. I have always taken an interest in nutrition. Being a kinesiologist, muscles are an organ I like to study! This helped me adapt and find more confidence to take on this new project.”
Supervisor, Dr. Celena Scheede-Bergdahl proudly commented on the societal impact of her student’s research, “Samantha’s research does have societal impact on human beings, as it provides important groundwork on a more fundamental level that can be translated into the human realm.”
When asked about her experience as a McGill Kinesiology student, Samantha beamed, “Since I did my bachelor degree at McGill, I had Celena as a professor and in that time, I grew very comfortable asking her questions and discussing ideas. They say there are no stupid questions, but as a student there are certainly questions that you are hesitant to ask; I never felt hesitation when reaching out to Celena. I realized that this was an important aspect of the relationship that I would need with the person mentoring me.”
What’s next for our recent graduate? Samantha will be starting work as an aquatic kinesiologist at a new fitness facility that is scheduled to open in the fall. “I want to start my career in a setting where I can work directly with patients or clients, and provide a well-rounded approach to health and lifestyle. A context where a small step in the right direction can have a big impact on quality of life! I also like to teach, so pursuing a post-secondary education degree or certificate is not off the table either! “