Mining for Data, Striking a Future

As most undergraduates will tell you, it is rare for a student to be certain of both the academic and career paths that they wish to pursue. U of S political studies major Davis Yuzdepski shares how he began his degree in the same boat, but over the course of his first two years, evolved into a confident, successful student and research assistant.

Digging for Clues to Miners’ Health

After performing well in his political studies classes last year, one of Yuzdepski’s professors presented him with an unprecedented opportunity – to work alongside an interdisciplinary team collecting and analyzing data on health/wellness conditions and programs in the mining sector. Headed by Lorna Butler, former Dean of Nursing and Executive Director of the International Centre for Northern Governance and Development (ICNGD), this publicized research project delves into aspects of physical wellbeing that are often overlooked in industry, such as mental health, circadian rhythms, and the role of healthcare practitioners.

Yuzdepski’s work on literature reviews indicates that nurse’s involvement in mines is minimal and acutely focused on workplace injury. What he and his team hope to accomplish is to improve existing industry programming to address problems of employee health across all domains:

“There's kind of a disproportionate focus I guess on the safety: preventing injuries, which, of course, is crucially important, but then there are other aspects as well, like looking at diet and nutrition, sleep cycles . . . mental health, which is obviously pretty all-encompassing. So I guess we're trying to look beyond the picture that's currently available,” Yuzdepski explains.

That currently-available picture is being expanded significantly by the team’s research. They have found that Saskatchewan leads the country in rates of worker absenteeism, and suspect the province of also having high rates of “presentee-ism,” which is when employees attend work but their productivity is compromised by various physical/mental health factors.

“The mining sector in particular sees a lot of employee turnover, [and] a lot of just general negative health outcomes . . . ideally the goal would be to help implement a program that helps improve the health of the workforce, because not only is it an ideal and moral and virtuous good to do so, but there's tons of evidence that says there's actually substantially better economic output and productivity if you have a healthier workforce,” Yuzdepski says.

Despite the project’s mounting findings, Yuzdepski notes that it is not without its difficulties:

“We are working with large players in the mining sector and they may not always be extremely willing to give up information . . . so even though we can make the claim that in the long run, the work we're doing will be to everyone's benefit, in the short run if you're running a profitable business that employs lots of people, it might be difficult to let in a group of academics into basically critique the way you do things.”

Nevertheless, Yuzdepski remains optimistic about the future impact of this research project:  “You just need to stick to the mantra that what you're doing is ultimately good and will benefit both the company and the employees.”

A Place to Prosper

While his research assistantship is contributing to a positive societal impact, it is also helping him to solidify his goals and plans for the future: “It has become very clear to me in the month and a half I've been there that this will be what I do. I mean, I work with so many people who occupy positions that I hope to one day occupy myself, and so I feel like even though [this position] is the lowest rung on the ladder, I feel like [research] is something that I will be doing for a long time in some capacity, so that's a good thing. It's rewarding.”

This realization came as a relief to Yuzdepski, who had previously been – like many undergraduates – unsure as to which of his interests to pursue: “I drifted around for many years . . . [I] thought maybe I'll take some sciences and pursue medicine or something ling like that. Then I took Chemistry 121 and realized that would be impossible for me,” he laughs.

Due to his academic uncertainty and lack of attachment to Saskatoon, Yuzdepski decided to enroll in online classes with the U of S and move to Toronto along with his friends; one was attending law school while the other was pursuing their PhD. It was the actions of these experienced students that illustrated to Yuzdepski his true potential: “Even though I was a little aimless, I got a steady dose of people who were excelling in their respective fields . . . That's sort of the mindset that I had the benefit of receiving: that one is actually capable of improving their own abilities slowly over time if you give a consistent and committed effort.”

After two years of witnessing his friends and role models succeed in their disciplines, Yuzdepski returned to Saskatoon with a revolutionized perspective: “When I left, I didn't really believe that I was capable of doing what [others] were doing. I didn't have a growth-oriented mindset, I didn't really believe in self-improvement that much, so I was sort of just stuck in what I was doing at the time. But then when I came back, I realized that I was more than capable of succeeding.”

This newfound confidence helped Yuzdepski to choose (and keep) his major in political studies, gave him the motivation to thrive in his classes, and allowed him to recognize his own strengths. “I was not a great student in the beginning, but since coming back to Saskatoon, since figuring out what I want to do, I just feel confident when I walk into an undergraduate classroom. I like talking to people, I like making my voice heard.”

Part of this transition was also due to a shift in the way Yuzdepski approached campus life: “It's obviously a confluence of factors that have led to this point, but I guess just being more open to the experience and just embracing as much as possible, being nicer and warmer and more open to other people rather than putting in headphones and then going home as soon as possible, all of those things in their own way can enhance your experience.”

What’s Good in the Classroom is Great in the Field

Yuzdepski’s vigor and desire for improvement in his studies is ultimately what secured him his present research assistantship; he also credits that tenacious attitude with an increased competence in the workplace: “Sometimes you need a little reminder that you're capable of doing what you know you can do. To me, I very rarely at this point doubt that I can walk into my office and do what I need to do to succeed in that role. Being growth-oriented and knowing that you can improve, [and] having evidence of improvement is huge in just reminding yourself that you are qualified to be there – you are capable of being there.”

Yuzdepski counts this assistantship as an invaluable and eye-opening experience: “This is what has really changed my perspective on what research actually is, but I guess that's sort of the goal of the Undergraduate Research Initiative, is to expose students to research that is not just searching the e-library for articles . . . with this [project] the research is a lot more focused, the literature fits much more tightly in with what we're actually trying to do. Which I think going back to my regular undergraduate life will be of pretty substantial benefit.”

Yuzdepski is one of over 100 student research assistants working for the U of S this summer. While that’s a fairly large pool of undergraduate researchers, these academic employment opportunities go unnoticed by many university students. To have a greater chance of finding and securing a position, Yuzdepski recommends establishing professional relationships with faculty in the classes you excel at and feel comfortable in - professors see the value in young, driven researchers and will only want to foster that passion for knowledge.

“The university is very much interested in exposing undergraduates to the research process earlier in their undergraduate career than 3rd or 4th year, and so it’s in both the institution's benefit as well as the student's benefit for students to actually reach out and figure out what is available . . . Just put yourself out there, make it known that you want to contribute in some small capacity, and I'm sure there's lots of roles out there for students who are willing to put in the hours,” Yuzdepski says.

Success is a Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

When asked if he would be continuing on the path of research, Yuzdepski answered with an emphatic yes. “I really mean this: doing research in this capacity is fun, it's enjoyable. I enjoy coming here every day and trying to figure out something new and conceive of some solution to some problem . . . at some point I had to enter the career pipeline, and it's very lucky that I found something that I actually like to do.”

Through the past year of his academic and professional growth, Yuzdepski has realized something that he wishes more undergraduates knew before entering their programs: “You always have lots of time to figure out what you want to do...you do have time at least to sit around and purposefully think about what it is that you want to do and what it is you want to accomplish. I think it's helpful to a degree to remove others' expectations about what you're supposed to do. Obviously if you have good influences around you, you should listen to their advice but ultimately you can't go to school for other people . . . You kind of have to just make the effort to pursue what you want to pursue and do it without reservation.”

Davis Yuzdepski is entering his 4^th year of Political Studies at the University of Saskatchewan.