Student wins Governor General’s Medal twice

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This article was published 06/07/2020 (1797 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A Steinbach Christian High School alumnus has won the Governor General’s Academic Silver Medal, the highest honour for a university student graduating with a Bachelors degree.

But Kasidy Harder, who comes from Mitchell, has been in that position before as he won the Governor General’s Academic Bronze Medal at Steinbach Christian years earlier.

Harder graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor in Science, and has a history of high level performance. In high school he was school president for two years as well as captain of the basketball team.

And the secret to his success isn’t exactly surprising.

“I studied a lot,” he said. “Early on, even in high school, I seldom took shortcuts in how I approached my courses and as a result I didn’t just know facts but I knew concepts.”

It’s those critical thinking skills that developed that Harder believes gives him the edge.

Being awarded this medal means a lot to Harder.

“Throughout my degree I brushed shoulders with a lot of extremely gifted and intelligent people, so I felt very honoured when I was notified about receiving this award,” he said. “Being able to receive this level of award in both my secondary and post-secondary degrees is something I’m extremely grateful for.”

Harder said his personality has always been focused and goal oriented. He said support from his parents allowed him to find his own way.

“Once I identified I wanted to go into science, I created a plan on how I was going to get there,” he said. “Being able to bounce ideas off friends and family helped me approach both high school and university in a way that felt meaningful. Putting in the hours needed to get good grades felt a lot easier after that.”

Harder said it’s important for young people to figure out who they are and what makes them tick.

“Once you figure out that, you can start seeing how that person might fit in different careers,” he said. “When you pinpoint a career that fits the mold, I think it’s a lot easier putting in the work necessary to achieve it.”

Harder said it’s also important to organize your life in the best way to achieve your goals.

He did that by saying no to jobs that weren’t flexible with scheduling, ensuring that around exam time he wasn’t receiving social pressure to do other things, and allowing himself to take breaks and have fun during times in the semester that weren’t as challenging.

In addition to the high school and university degree levels of Governor General’s Medals, there are also medals for diploma level and masters degree, but Harder doesn’t see either of those in his future. “My goal is to enter a professional program, preferably in the healthcare field after this,” he said. “I don’t believe anything I’m considering would fall under either of those medal requirements.”

Harder is excited about his upcoming year. He will be continuing his work in a biological lab under Dr. Margaret Docker, using environmental DNA to help locate and track endangered species in Manitoba aquatic environments.