Exploring the polar regions

Alumnus experiences the trip of a lifetime aboard a Sea Women Expedition research mission By Charlotte Danby Faculty of Engineering It's said that an engineering degree can take you places. For Waterloo University alumnus Stephanie Holko (BASc '04, chemical engineering) her studies led her somewhere extraordinary - swimming with orcas off the coast of Norway on an all-women research expedition. Holko discovered Sea Women Expeditions (SWX) by chance in 2022 when her interest in the polar regions led her to an online lecture that mentioned the organization's work. As an advocate for women in STEM, Holko felt an immediate click with its mission to scout, record and document a warming Arctic, as well as to provide opportunities for Indigenous women, non-Indigenous women and gender diverse people to gain leadership skills and field experience. She applied to join its November 2022 expedition to Norway, sat the interview and was accepted. "Sea Women Expeditions represent a diversity of professions, ages, nationalities, interests, heritages and attributes," says Holko who works as a director of project development at Next Generation Manufacturing (NGen) Canada. She is also the president and chair of the board for the Ontario Society for Professional Engineers.