Student aims to grow Canada's space program with Polytechnique White Rose scholarship

At 23 years old, Makenna Kuzyk is the first woman and second civilian to be admitted to the International Test Pilots School in London, Ont., where she plans to get her master's degree in flight test engineering.

From there, she wants to grow Canada's space program while working to make the world a better place, inspiring women to take an interest in the stars and study aerospace engineering.

"As an engineer, we're taught to build a better future and that's what I want to do," said Kuzyk, who is from Alberta. She'll be getting help achieving her dreams from Polytechnique Montréal.

A ceremony was held Monday morning to honour Kuzyk. She is the 10th recipient of Polytechnique's Order of the White Rose, a $50,000 bursary created in memory of the 14 women murdered at the Montreal engineering school in 1989.

The scholarship is given to a female engineering student annually.

Kuzyk's parents, Chinh Chu and Dale Kuzyk, attended the ceremony, telling CBC News they never doubted their daughter's ability. Her father said they always had strong family values, pushing their children to achieve as much as they want.

"But she took it to another level and I don't know where it comes from, but it's awesome," Dale Kuzyk said.

The $50,000 scholarship, created by Polytechnique in 2014, is presented each year to a Canadian woman studying engineering who wishes to pursue graduate studies (master's or doctoral) at the institution of her choice, in Canada or elsewhere.

The primary goal is to promote female role models in engineering and science across the country.

Kuzyk had just earned her pilot's license, which drained her bank account, when she learned she had been awarded the Order of the White Rose.

"I was shaking," she said. "I wasn't sure how I was going to pay for my master's degree. But this is going to go miles in helping me."

She wants to inspire more women to do the same as they represent only 11 per cent of astronauts worldwide. According to NASA, a mere 75 women have flown in space as of February.

Kuzyk, who says her ideal vacation would be a trip to the moon, wants to add her name to the list of women who have visited space. But her dream goes beyond that as she looks to grow Canada's space program.

"I think Canada has a lot of resources to do it but we just haven't done it yet, and I think we have a lot of young, ambitious people who want to make that step," she said.