Meeting other students at the interviews for the Loran Awards was a revelation for Mark Ouseley (Loran scholar ’06). “The interviews made me realize I was not alone,” recalls Mark. “For the first time, I felt that I was connecting with people who shared similar passions, experiences, and ambitions.”

An environmental and earth systems student, Mark started a green roof project with a team of faculty and students at Queen’s. He also serves as sustainability coordinator for the residences, a volunteer position he petitioned the residents’ council to create in order to reduce the residences’ ecological impact.

Mark has not limited himself to the campus community. In 2007, he moved to Calgary to work with Dr. David Keith as an assistant to the secretariat of the ecoENERGY Carbon Capture and Storage Task Force. He chose Calgary in order to obtain firsthand knowledge of the environmental concerns faced in Western Canada.
Curious about how China addresses environmental challenges, Mark spent his next summer in Tianjin, China, where he worked for PPG Industries as an environmental health and safety intern. The first foreign intern to work at the plant, his thirteen-hour day included five hours on the company bus. In addition to improving his Mandarin, he assisted with safety inspections, reviewed training procedures and helped his team apply PPG’s international safety standards.

Mark’s summers have made him rethink his career objectives. Originally aspiring to be a doctor, he is now interested in “how private enterprises can take independent action that goes above and beyond government expectations.” Mark has discussed future studies in business with his mentor, Scott Carson, a former bank executive and director of the MBA program at Queen’s.