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The Vanier Canada Graduate Scholar (Vanier CGS) program aims to attract highly qualified doctoral students to Canadian institutions. In her own words, PhD student MengXing (Ketty) Na shares her thoughts and reactions upon receiving this prestigious award. 

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“As I prepared the personal statement for this application, I had the opportunity to review the key moments in my life and the people I shared them with. These are the people who gave precious time and energy to invest in me. This award is a reflection of their own excellence and I am so grateful for them. I thank my parents, who made the courageous move from China to Canada in 2003, without them I would not have had this opportunity. I thank my friends for supporting me; my mentors, Kirk Kaminsky and David Purschke, for their infectious passion for physics; my undergraduate research advisors, Frank Hegmann and Frank Marsiglio, for their wonderful teaching, scientific guidance, and encouragement to pursue science outreach; my PhD thesis advisors Andrea Damascelli and David J. Jones, for their scientific instinct, dedicated care and providing the opportunities that allowed me to grow; and of course the Damascelli and Jones group members, who challenge me daily and continue to foster my scientific interest and understanding.

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“It’s deeply encouraging to know that there are really accomplished people out there who find my research interesting and who find enough merit in me to want to invest financially. Their validation gives me confidence and keeps me going when things get tough, and their belief spurs me on to be someone who can reward their investment, as well as the investment of all my mentors past and present. The Vanier scholarship will allow me to delve deeper and focus on my research without worrying about financial pressures, and I want to use this time to pursue my interests in science education and outreach in a fuller way. I am very excited for what is to come and I express my sincere thanks to the Vanier CGS for making it all possible.” 

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