Category Archives: Uncategorized

Claire Abramski

(403) 850 – 0374      claire.abramski@gmail.com       1358 Sutherland Ave, Kelowna, BC    V1Y 5Y3

OBJECTIVE

Field work and consulting in the environmental science industry leading to EGBC certification and eventually be applied to sustainability research.  

EDUCATION

University of British Columbia – Okanagan      |      2017 – Present

Bachelor of Science Degree – Earth in Environmental Science

• Bachelor of Science Degree in Earth and Environmental Sciences, graduating August 2021. Participated in mainly environmental science courses including Soil Science, Environmental Impact Assessment, Tracers of Natural Processes, and Technical Writing.

University of Otago – Dunedin, New Zealand      |       February 2020 – June 2020

Semester Abroad

• Semester exchange in New Zealand organized through Go Global at UBC. Participated in a week-long geology field school in Maerewhenua. Other courses completed include Resource Evaluation and Planning, Physical Oceanography, and Natural Hazards of New Zealand and Beyond. Combined average of 91% for all course completed on this exchange.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Maintenance Team Member

Black Mountain Golf Course | 05/2021 – Present

• Initiated the operation of a variety of landscape equipment both motorized and manual required for golf course maintenance.
• Ensured the golf course is in good shape by raking bunkers, landscaping, mowing, and moving tee markers along with other required activities.
• Completed manual labor for long periods of time including walking on uneven surfaces, bending, crouching, and lifting heavy objects.
• Demonstrated strong communication skills by working well with other team members while fulfilling daily tasks.
• Embraced outdoor working environment that was subject to pre-dawn hours and adverse conditions such as heat, cold, rain, smoke and in awkward and confined spaces.

Summer Student – Administrative Associate

Scotia Wealth Management | 04/2019 – 08/2019

H+L Capital Ltd is part of Scotia Wealth Management. H+L offers full brokerage services and are dedicated to helping achieve long-term financial success.

• Open new/update existing accounts ensuring accuracy and completion.
• Accurately completed several projects that meet high compliance requirements.
• Providing high level of client service and experience by listening and executing the requests in a timely manner.
• Used several industry related software programs such as Microsoft Office Suite, Charles River (trading platform) and Salesforce (CRM).
• Preparation of documents & information for client meetings, tax packages, and financial planning.
• Adhered to regulatory requirements of IRROC (industry regulator).

Hostess

Anejo | 04/ 2018 – 08/2018

High-end authentic Mexican restaurant in downtown Calgary.

• Hostess duties including greeting/seating customers.
• Informing guests of daily features.
• Managing online and phone reservations.
• Cleaning tables and cutlery.
• Preparing tables for guests and large events.

LEADERSHIP

Awards

DEPUTY VICE-CHANCELLOR SCHOLARSHIP (2019) – Awarded to students based on academic achievement (greater than a 90% average in the previous semester).

PIERRE BERTHIER EDUCATION ABROAD SCHOLARSHIP (2020) – Awarded to students with a high average and pursuing a study abroad experience.

DEAN’S LIST RECIPIENT (2021) – Awarded to students who have demonstrated academic excellence by maintaining a sessional average of at least 85% or higher while completing 24 or more credits.

Skills

• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Stays well organized and good at time management.
• Skilled in listening and needs assessment.
• Multi-tasking in fast-paced environments.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office Suite.
• Familiar with ArcMap software.

Activities

Competitive level soccer (4 years)

Fish trap volunteer (2 months – 2020)

Volunteer Visitor at seniors home (2 years)

REFERENCES

Available upon request.

This blog post consists of a reflection about the Unit 2 assignments. It is broken down into three parts explaining lessons from: researching how to create a LinkedIn profile, preparing a research proposal and outline, and the peer-review process.

Researching how to create a LinkedIn profile was an eye-opening experience. There was extensive material explaining the complexities and nuances behind creating a professional social media network. Unlike a personal social media page, a professional page has a lot more thought and purpose put into it that I was not aware of prior to this assignment. There should be a purpose and logical reason for every part of a profile that will help pursuing career goals, connections, and professional opportunities. This experience taught me that although I already have a LinkedIn profile, there is a lot of room for improvement to my profile to make it an effective tool in a professional setting.

For brainstorming for the proposal, it was difficult to decide on what topic to specifically pick as the assignment was very open ended. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic hindering any social connection for the past year, I struggled to identify a system or procedure that was problematic in a workplace, as a volunteer or as a student. However, as a passionate environmental student I eventually found a topic that piqued interest. The only question about this process is simply how it will all come together. Trying to manage life, work, and this course I am slightly concerned on when I will have time to work on it. It would be helpful to see an example of past student to assist in the understanding of the expectations in terms of organization and overall structure of a report.

For the peer review, I reviewed Charles Wang’s research proposal. This process is extremely helpful because every time a revision or correction is needed it forces me to look at my own work and find these same errors. For example, in Charles’ work it was mentioned that there were ‘potential health problems’ with little expansion on what this meant. No fault to Charles here as it is very easy to get caught up in your own writing and forget the reader may not know what you are referring to. However, noticing this in Charles work forced self-reflection and self-editing to take place to try and ensure this confusion does not occur within my own work. The peer-editing process also was a lesson in reviewing my work for repetition and conciseness. Although there has been progress in removing pro-nouns, there is still room for noticing things such as starting multiple sentences with the same word or term.

Attached below is the revised research proposal and Charles’ peer review of my original research proposal:

Revised Research Proposal: https://blogs.ubc.ca/abramski301/2021/06/29/__trashed/

Charles’ Peer Review: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-98a-2021sa/2021/06/18/peer-review-of-claire-abramskis-formal-report-proposal/

To: Dr. Erika Paterson

From: Claire Abramski

Date: June 15, 2021

Subject: Research Proposal for Determining Methods for Increasing Food Waste Composting in Kelowna, British Columbia at a City Level.

Introduction

Everyone generates waste every day. Waste management is the determining factor of the endpoint of this waste. Most municipal waste eventually ends up in landfills that produce greenhouse gas emissions which contribute to climate change. With climate change we see warming on Earth above global averages. This warming will contribute to increases in events such as heat waves and wildfires which are a recurring problem in Kelowna. Composting is one way to diverge waste from entering landfills and mitigates gases such as methane produced in landfills. The new material made from composting enriches soils by helping them retain moisture and suppress plant diseases and pests. The materials made from composting also encourages the production of humus, which is a nutrient rich material made from bacteria and fungi breaking down organic matter. Composting programs have been reported to reduce household waste by 30-50% while also producing soil enhancing material (Regional District of Central Okanagan). 

Target Audience

The intended audience for this report is the Regional District of Central Okanagan and the City of Kelowna as they are the organizations responsible for the waste management programs within Kelowna and the Okanagan region. The report will be given to the compost director, Andrew Kuiper, at the City of Kelowna. A specific contact for the Regional District of Central Okanagan is in the process of acquiring.

Statement of Problem

The City of Kelowna and the greater Regional District of the Central Okanagan currently do not have options for the collection and composting of food waste at a community level. This is problematic as organics (food and yard waste) was found to compose 39% of the waste stream collected at the curbs of residents in the Central Okanagan Region according to the Solid Waste Management Plan Report produced by the Waste Reduction Office of the Central Okanagan. There is curbside collection of yard waste for composting but no collection of food waste. This is problematic as food waste is a valuable material that could also be transformed into nutrient rich soils used to grow food and plants. Currently this material is being discarded into the garbage stream of waste collection and being sent to landfills where they contribute to the production of greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide. Although residents are encouraged to participate in backyard composting of food waste there is not significant education and promotion of this practice.

Proposed Solution

Curbside pickup of food waste would be the best solution as residents are more likely to participate. It will be easiest for people to incorporate food waste into their waste disposal practices as most already participate in yard waste collection.

If this is not feasible then an education program and promotion of backyard composting is required. One suggestion would be to provide every resident with a backyard composting setup like how every resident is provided with garbage, recycling, and yard waste collection bins. A brochure or instructions on how to properly compost should also be provided or easily accessible by all. To do this additional funding or allocation of funds will be required.

Scope

To assess the feasibility of implementing a curbside collection program or dispersal of backyard composting materials I plan to explore 7 areas of inquiry:

• What are the requirements for input materials needed for composting?
• Are the current methods at composting facilities capable of composting food waste?
• Is there a demand from residents for curbside collection of food waste?
  • How much would it cost to implement the collection of food waste?
• Are residents interested in a collection program or would they prefer their own backyard composting system?
  • How much would it cost to purchase and distribute at home composting systems to residents?

Methods

The primary source of data collection will be from a survey distributed to people in the Kelowna area or who have lived in Kelowna previously. This survey will ask questions about individuals’ experience with composting and if they desire a composting program in Kelowna. The identities of participants of the survey will be kept confidential. I will also reach out to those applicable at the City of Kelowna and the Regional District of Central Okanagan to determine the feasibility of their facilities and the costs involved.

Link to survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/B9TFGWJ

A secondary source of data will be reviewing literature on the cost of waste collection and processing programs. A look into the composting system run in Calgary will also be reviewed.

My Qualifications

I am an Earth and Environmental student who has a particular interest in sustainability. I participated in Dr. Matthew Nelson’s sustainability class and currently in the process of applying for my masters of sustainability. I am familiar with the composting process as I have composted myself and have done research on the topic. I have lived in a city with a food waste composting program and have also spent the past four years in Kelowna. This makes me familiar with both a city with a feasible program and Kelowna itself. I also have knowledge of soils and their processes due to the topic of my studies.

Conclusion

Composting is an important part of waste management that supports cleaner disposal of residential waste.  This topic needs to be addressed more seriously by the governing bodies of the Central Okanagan. By collecting data and addressing the 7 areas of inquiry I will determine the feasibility of implementing a refined composting program within the Okanagan and specifically Kelowna. With approval, I will begin research immediately.

Works Cited:

Central Okanagan. Waste Reduction Office. Final Solid Waste Management Plan. Regional District of Central Okanagan, 2020, https://www.regionaldistrict.com/media/293686/2020_02_20_Final_Approved_RDCO_SWMP.pdf. Accessed 14 June 2021.

Regional District of Central Okanagan. “Composting.” Regional District of Central Okanagan, 2021, https://www.regionaldistrict.com/your-services/waste-reduction-office/composting.aspx. Accessed 14 June 2021.

Household Food Waste Composting Program in Kelowna, BC

 I am an undergraduate student at UBCO participating in a technical writing project. The purpose of this survey is to acquire primary data for analysis and interpretation aimed to provide recommendations for improving the composting program by including of household food waste to the current composting system in Kelowna, BC. The final report will be addressed to the Regional District of Central Okanagan and the City of Kelowna who are responsible for composting in Kelowna. With the data I collect and additional information from reports done by the Regional District of Central Okanagan will serve to provide recommendations for greater sustainability within the waste management system in Kelowna. The survey contains 9 multiple choice questions and should take only 5 minutes of your time. All responses are voluntary and will remain anonymous. Thank you and any participation in this survey is greatly appreciated.

Survey Questions

1. Do you participate in the current yard waste composting collection program in Kelowna?
   1. Yes / No

2. If you answered yes to question one, how often do you use the collection service if you have yard waste?
   1. Always / Sometimes / Rarely

3. If a household food waste composting service was offered in Kelowna, would you participate in this service?
   1. Yes / No

4. If you answered yes to question 3, rank your desire for this type of service:
   1. 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

5. Would you participate in this program if bins were provided to each household?
   1. Yes / No

6. Would you participate in this program if you had to pay for bins to be provided to your household?
   1. Yes / No

7. If you answered yes to question 6, rank your willingness to pay for bins to be provided for your household:
   1. 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

8. Does the appeal of this program increase if you knew the composted material was being used around the city for planting or provided for sale to local agriculture and wineries?
   1. Yes
   2. Somewhat
   3. Not at all

9. Would you want the opportunity to buy the composted material that would be produced from this program?
   1. Yes / No

Additional thoughts or questions:

3333 University Way,

Kelowna, BC V1V1V7

May 26, 2021

Class of 301 Technical Writing

2329 West Mall

Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4

Attention: 301 Technical Writing Class

Please consider my application as a professional writing team member for the 301 Technical Writing Class for the summer 2021 semester. I will graduate from the University of British Columbia Okanagan with a Bachelor of Science in Earth and Environmental Sciences in August 2021. With four years of university experience, I believe that I am an ideal candidate for this role as I have been required to produce extensive written communication and many experiences working in a team environment.

I am interested in working in the sustainability sector of environmental sciences and more specifically through field work. In early 2020, I participated in a week-long field course in the Central Otago region of New Zealand. During this course, I learned and refined field techniques such as taking quantitative and descriptive field notes, providing field interpretations, and working with geological field maps. This experience taught me how to remain organized in my work while also making efficient use of time. Being well organized was critical as we visited numerous locations each day, while also competing with rapid weather changes. I was able to fine-tune my interpersonal and communication skills when placed in teams tasked with making precise and accurate field measurements. My time in this course has strengthened my efficiency and organizational skills in writing while also providing a greater understanding of how to work and communicate with others.

My strengths in terms of writing skills and work habits include:

• Strong organizational and time management skills
• Always trying to produce my best work

My weaknesses in terms of writing skills and work habits include:

• Wordy writing
• Issues arising with grammar and sentence structure

I learn best through an interactive and trial and error method. Although I am highly capable of following instructions, I learn most effectively by going through the process being asked of.  I find that by either failing or succeeding completion of the task solidifies and allows for the greatest learning for myself.

If my skills and experience would prove beneficial to your professional writing team, please email me at abramski@student.ubc.ca.

Sincerely,

Claire Abramski

This blog post is a reflection of the process of writing for the definitions assignments. The reflection is broken into 3 parts explaining the lessons from: the original writing process, peer-review process, and editing/self-editing process.

The definition assignment illustrated that there are three different ways to define a relatively complex term. Prior to this assignment I was not aware that there are different methods of defining an expression. This process also highlighted the importance of knowing the audience and the purpose of the writing task. Being asked to write for novice readers forced the writer to use simpler terminology and ensure all technical jargon was fully explained. This greatly influences how the author organizes their work and writing style to make certain the novice readers will understand.

The peer review process demonstrated that my writing style still lacks clarity and conciseness. Sometimes sentence structure is awkward and can get long and wordy. This has been identified as a trouble area before and has room for further improvement. While editing Alirod’s assignment, the strengths in his work highlighted and demonstrated writing components that could be incorporated into my own work. For example, in the ‘Expanded Definition’ section of the assignment, Alirod had great headings that made the definition very clear. This was not something incorporated into my assignment and was something I implemented into my assignment following the peer review process.

While self-editing, it was highlighted again that conciseness and redundancy is an area that needs improvement. Often my writing can lack precision and becomes many sentences trying to explain the same idea instead of one clear and concise sentence. Through the peer-review and self-editing processes, editing and restructuring of sentences was key in improving the quality of this assignment.

Attached below is the revised definition assignment and Alirod’s peer review of my original definitions assignment:

Alirod’s Peer Review: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-98a-2021sa/2021/06/05/peer-review-of-claire-definitions-assignment/

Revised Definitions Assignment: https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl301-98a-2021sa/2021/06/09/assignment-1-3-revised-definitions-environmental-impact-assessment/

Email 1: Response to Alirod

Dear Alirod,

I have received and reviewed your email and I would like to thank you for reaching out to me. I will gladly accept your offer of becoming a member of a ENGL 301 writing team for this term.

I have reviewed your biography and letter of application and agree that the similarities in interests and area of academic studies will prove beneficial when working together. Having another science based student on the team will streamline our workflow as we have both experienced similar writing tasks and are familiar with formal and scientific based writing.

Your extensive work experience in communications and marketing roles demonstrates to me that you can work successfully in a team environment and communicate with clarity to others. I believe that this trait will prove to be a great addition to our team as communication skills are a necessity to the efficiency and functioning of a group.

I am excited to be working together as some of my weaknesses in writing are where you highlighted as your strengths. Being able to collaborate and learn from each other will only make our team stronger and allow us to grow in our writing capabilities as we move through this term.

Let me know who else you have contacted to form a team as I have yet to reach out to anyone. I can then send my other emails to them and it will make forming a team of four easier.

I have also attached my letter of application for your records and if you want to review it again and as it was outlined in the assignment.

Best,

Claire Abramski

claire.abramski@gmail.com

Email 2: Invitation to William 

Dear William,

I am reaching out to you in regards to becoming team members for the ENGL 301 professional writing team for the summer 2021 semester. The team I am a part of consists of myself and fellow student Alirod Ameri. I have read and reviewed your biography and letter of application and believe that you would be a great addition to our team.

I see that you are a Philosophy major and believe that this would complement our team because Alirod and myself are both science majors. I believe that a mix of disciplines in our team is important because it will give us dynamic perspectives when working on assignments which is critical to ensure we are  completing the task as thoroughly as possible. I also thought that your learning philosophy was impressive. I agree that often students get too bogged down in the grade they will receive rather than completing the task being asked of them. I believe your way of thinking about tackling the task itself rather than the grade for the assignment will prove very beneficial for this course.

I have attached my letter of application for your review.

Let me know if you would like to join our group.

Best,

Claire Abramski

claire.abramski@gmail.com

Email 3: Invitation to Claire

Dear Claire,

I am reaching out to you in regards to becoming team members for the ENGL 301 professional writing team for the summer 2021 semester. The team I am a part of consists of myself and fellow student Alirod Ameri. I have read and reviewed your biography and letter of application and believe that you would be a great addition to our team.

I also am an UBCO student but I am majoring in Earth and Environmental sciences so we most likely have had classes that have overlapped. I feel that you would be a great addition to our team because of your extensive work experience at the Vancouver School Board. Being a student support worker for thirteen years would make your communication skills extremely strong. This is important for the ENGL writing team as we will be working remotely to complete tasks and need to be able to communicate clearly and effectively. I also feel that you would have a strong sense of how to work with others and create a productive team environment due to your work history. Again, this is important for the ENGL writing team as we have to work as a unit to complete the tasks assigned throughout the semester and being able to create a productive team will allow us to work at our fullest potential.

I have attached my letter of application for your review.

Let me know if you would like to join our group.

Best,

Claire Abramski 

claire.abramski@gmail.com

Email 4: Invitation to Gabriella 

Dear Gabriella,

I am reaching out to you in regards to becoming team members for the ENGL 301 professional writing team for the summer 2021 semester. The team I am a part of consists of myself and fellow student Alirod Ameri. I have read and reviewed your biography and letter of application and believe that you would be a great addition to our team.

With your previous experience in the workplace, I feel that you would make a great addition to our team. Already having an understanding of the workplace and how to communication within it will be extremely beneficial to our team as our main experiences is in academia. I also appreciate your eagerness to make the most efficient and successful team environment when you mentioned you were a teamwork enthusiast. Creating a safe and welcoming team atmosphere will allow all team members to feel comfortable and willing to succeed as a group. I also have lots of experience working in teams and would be excited to work with someone who values team motivation which as you said contributes to creating a group that can thrive at its fullest potential.

I have attached my letter of application for your review.

Let me know if you would like to join our group.

Best,

Claire Abramski 

claire.abramski@gmail.com

MEMORANDUM

To:                   Erika Paterson, 301 Technical Writing Professor
From:              Claire Abramski, 301 Technical Writing Student
Date:               May 26, 2021
Subject:          Blog Post Submission of Letter of Application for Lesson 2 Assignments

As requested in the assignment, I am informing you that I have completed and submitted the letter of application on my student blog as outlined in the unit 1 lesson 2 assignments.

The letter of application was addressed to the 301 Technical Writing class in relation to their professional writing team member job posting. The letter of application followed the format outlined in the “Workplace Memos and Letters” section of the course textbook titled, Technical Communications by John M. Lannon and Laura J. Gurak. The applications were created to allow the class to form professional writing teams based on your skills and professional interests outlined in the letter.

My letter of application includes:

• My interest in the position of professional writing team member
• Information pertaining to an academic experience I underwent last year in the field that demonstrated the skills I was taught and learned from said event that would support myself in the role of professional writing team member
• Outlining my skills and weaknesses in relation to writing and working habits
• Describing my personal learning philosophy and the best methods for solidifying my understanding and knowledge of topic or task

Please let myself know if I have missed any information needed or have submitted anything incorrectly. I have attached the Microsoft Word document of the letter of application in this memo or it can also be found directly on my student blog.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and critiques on my submitted assignments for unit 1 lesson 2.

Enclosure: Letter of Application for Claire Abramski: 301 Claire Abramski Application Letter

Attached beloq is my letter of application addressed to the 301 Technical Writing Class.

The email to contact myself at is: abramski@student.ubc.ca.

Looking forward to hearing from some of you.

301 Claire Abramski Application Letter

English 301 is an online course that involves studying the principles of written communication in a professional context. It intends to teach and demonstrate how one should prepare abstracts, proposals, applications, reports, and correspondence and online communications such as emails, texts, Web folios and networking in a professional manner.

My expectations of this course are extremely high and I am excited to be enrolled in it. As someone who has always struggled with writing in the past, I expect to write a great amount and finally learn in a cohesive manner how to properly construct academic and professional written communication. I am hoping to have clear instructions on how to properly construct written material. In the past the expectations of written communication has remained unclear due to differing instructions on how and what the expectations of written material is. English 301 looks like it will be an extremely useful course as it appears to prepare students to have a comprehensive understanding of the expectations of written communication in the a professional context. Having all the principles of written communication in one place will prove to be extremely beneficial to someone like myself who battles with successfully communicating in a written manner. I am expecting to be provided with the standards and expectations of written communication in an extensive manner with this course in a context that will be applicable to my future professional experiences.