Kris Frederickson

Kris Frederickson learned from his parents that engineers had an important job to do.  Even though he was good at math in high school, first year of engineering was hard though. “It wasn’t what I expected.  I was ready to quit,” he says. “But my parents convinced me to give it another try, and it turns out I liked it.”

While he was still in university studying Biosystems Engineering, Kris got to do a co-op placement.  This is where students will go out and work for several months while they are still in school.  Kris worked for a company that was developing a new harvesting machine, to be able to harvest a shrub called sea buckthorn without removing its’ bark.  The bark contains many helpful medicinal ingredients.

While he was in school, Kris wanted to end up working in the area of environmental cleanup, looking at how projects would impact the environment.  “The thing about biosystems engineering is that it opens many doors. I could even choose to study medicine if I want.”

Kris knows that perseverance got him through school, and wants to encourage other Indigenous youth to stick with it. “Math and science may not seem that exciting in high school, but once you get past the early stages – WOW – it gets very exciting!” says Kris.