2021 William Muir Edwards Citizenship Award Nomination - Delaney MacIntosh

Delaney MacIntosh’s goal is to contribute to a culture where all ideas and backgrounds are  acknowledged and appreciated, and individual creativity is celebrated.

A career in engineering, she believes, is one way to fulfill these goals.   

“Engineering is the application of knowledge to serve the needs of the community,” MacIntosh says. “It enables humankind to reach its potential.”

MacIntosh’s commitment to the engineering student community has been evident from the start, but it was when the COVID-19 pandemic hit that her true leadership capabilities flourished.

As Vice-President of Communications for the First Year Engineering Club executive team, MacIntosh was responsible for building relationships with a variety of engineering clubs and faculty members, a skill that she has carried forward through all of her subsequent work. She was also a member of the group of student leaders who stepped forward and advised Dean Fraser Forbes on the Faculty of Engineering’s initial response to COVID-19.

“Thanks to the work of Delaney and her peers, Dean Forbes was able to secure the unanimous support of the undergraduate engineering student leaders, and effectively engage with the campus community to respond humanely and appropriately to the incredibly challenging reality presented by the pandemic,” says Raymond Matthias, Strategic Advisor to the Assistant Dean (Outreach).

MacIntosh played a pivotal role in the development of the Civil & Environmental Engineering Club’s Quarantine Olympics, a week-long series of online competitions including contests, scavenger hunts and fitness challenges. As Matthias notes, the Quarantine Olympics began only two weeks into the lockdown, representing an innovative way of utilizing social media and online meeting platforms to foster community. 

“Our team developed and organized the virtual event and partnered with Food Banks Canada to raise money towards addressing food insecurity,” MacIntosh says. “It was a way to boost morale and promote online connection in the early stages of COVID-19.

Another initiative developed by MacIntosh, inspired in part by the pandemic, was a friend-matching service (friENGG) to connect and provide 400+ first and second year engineering students with virtual opportunities for peer support. 

To further combat the disconnect and social isolation brought on by remote learning, MacIntosh redeveloped the ESS website to be an informational hub, improving access to resources students need and making it a point of connection between student groups and the faculty.

Following her leadership role with the First Year Engineering Club, MacIntosh was elected as VP Communications for the Engineering Students’ Society (ESS). As one of her initiatives, she successfully revamped The Bridge — the ESS’s monthly publication featuring student journalism and creative writing — increasing its readership by 6,000 percent.

Building off of this desire to connect students of all backgrounds to diverse opportunities, MacIntosh went on to establish the Canadian Leadership, Engineering, and Design (canLEAD) as ESS VP External Relations. This virtual conference allowed students to explore their passions through competitions, workshops, and professional development seminars, while networking with leaders from across Canada. She now brings this experience to the BioTec national biotechnology conference, based out of UWaterloo, as Director of Community Engagement.

MacIntosh’s passion for inspiring young girls to pursue their interests in STEM led her to volunteer with WISEST (Women in Scholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology) as a campus ambassador and UAWiSE High School Outreach Executive, among other roles. She also mentors high school girls through the Female Engineering Mentorship (FEM+) program, and has worked as an Event Analyst and Marketing Coordinator on APEGA’s Student Liaison Committee.  

MacIntosh has also been recognized with awards such as the Edmonton Community Foundation Award, the Government of Alberta’s Women in STEM Scholarship, and the Kyle Block Scholarship.

“I want to ensure no one ever pushes aside their passions, or misses out on discovering them, because of preconceived notions about STEM,” says MacIntosh. “There is a place for everyone in engineering; this is a mission I will live throughout my life.”

Named in honour of the Faculty of Engineering’s founding professor, the William Muir Edwards Citizenship Award recognizes Engineering at Alberta undergraduate students who have made exceptional contributions to society. It’s a celebration of citizenship and of engineering students who go to extraordinary lengths to make our world a better place. Special thanks to the David Morris Family Foundation for supporting our students and making the William Muir Edwards Citizenship Awards possible. 

Do you know an undergraduate student whose volunteerism, contributions, and efforts, both on-campus and off-campus, work to make the world a better place? Learn more about the nomination process here.