BRANDON, MB – A Brandon University (BU) nursing student will compete this weekend on CBC national television against an eclectic group of brilliant minds, in Canada’s Smartest Person.
“This is a once in a lifetime experience,” says 22-year old Alea Ciecko, a 4th year psychiatric nursing student at BU’s Winnipeg campus. “When I was younger, I was told more than once that I was a smarty-pants but I also believed in my own intelligence. Being on Canada’s Smartest Person has been great for my self-confidence.”
Ciecko is among 32 contestants selected following a cross-country search involving several rounds of intelligence testing. She will face off Sunday, November 16 at 8 pm against a law student and a former Olympic swimmer – both from Vancouver – and an audio-visual artist from Ottawa. They will be tested for social, linguistic, logical, visual, physical and musical intelligence; the person with the highest score will advance to the series finale November 23.
“This whole experience is a bit surreal,” admits Ciecko, who will be the first in her family to graduate from university. She hopes to pursue a master’s degree but expects to work first to pay down her student debt.
“I consider all our students to be above average,” says Dr. Dean Care, Dean of Health Studies, “but we are extremely proud of Alea for being selected to take part in Canada’s Smartest Person, and our faculty and University wish her all the best in Sunday’s competition. BU alumn Tommy Douglas was found to be the ‘Greatest Canadian’ by the CBC and we are confident that soon-to-be graduate Alea will also impress the nation.”
“Brandon University attracts outstanding students and we are very pleased to see the accomplishments being achieved by Alea Ciecko,” says Dr. Heather Duncan, A/Vice-President (Academic).
For more on the television series, go to http://www.cbc.ca/smartestperson/. Brandon University, founded in 1899, promotes excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship; educating students so that they can make a meaningful difference as engaged citizens and leaders.
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