Skip to main content
Dal.ca Home
Dal.ca Home

Recent alumni share how unique first-year program shaped their Dal experience

The ±«Óătv Integrated Science Program (DISP) provides a small cohort of first-year science students with an early introduction to research, building the foundation for success over the rest of their degree. See how DISP shaped the experiences of two recent alumni.
Side-by-side portraits of Kendra Mainprize and Owen Yoshida.

Posted: October 22, 2025

By: Kenneth Conrad

Each year during spring convocation, University Medals are awarded to graduating students with the highest academic standing in their department. Six of the Faculty of Science’s medal winners from ±«Óătv University’s Spring 2025 Convocation have something in common: they are former ±«Óătv Integrated Science Program (DISP) students.

Each year, up to 80 first-year Bachelor of Science students enroll in DISP, which provides the cohort with an opportunity to gain an interdisciplinary perspective in science while developing research and science writing skills. Though the program only lasts a year, DISP students benefit from the early research experience during the rest of their BSc, with many opting to pursue an honours program.

See how DISP shaped the paths of two recent Dal alumni.

Interested in applying? Learn more about DISP.

Seeking out the ocean – Kendra Mainprize

A female student with long hair stands smiling surrounded by equipment on shelves in a lab. Kendra on campus in an Aquatron lab space.

Born and raised in the small farming town of Beeton, Ontario, Kendra Mainprize (BSc’25) knew she would have to leave home to study marine biology. 

“I just wanted to be where the ocean was,” Kendra says. Having first heard of ±«Óătv University and the Integrated Science Program (DISP) through a chance encounter with a DISP student while travelling around Ontario in high school, she learned more after visiting Nova Scotia for the first time, meeting students in the program during a campus tour.

“Everyone only had good things to say about DISP,” Kendra recounts. “A smaller community while going to such a big school, especially when moving away from home, was really appealing to me.”

After enrolling in DISP, Kendra welcomed the chance to get involved with research, participating in a blue shark tracking project with the Bedford Institute of Oceanography (BIO). “It was really cool to work with shark researchers at the BIO in my first year of university,” she says, adding that the experience inspired her to seek out more research opportunities, including an Honours project supervised by Dr. Ramón Filgueira of the Marine Affairs Program.

After DISP, Kendra made the most of her undergraduate experience, completing the requirements for two certificates (Aquaculture and the Environment & Science Communication and Leadership) and heading abroad for internships in the Bahamas, as part of the Queen Elizabeth Scholars (QES) program, and in Germany at the through .

A woman in scuba gear is underwater using a brush to scrub a rope. Kendra doing some underwater cleaning during her Bahamas internship.

It took a fifth year to fit it all in, but Kendra was ultimately awarded the University Medal in Marine Biology when she graduated in spring 2025. She plans to pursue a PhD, but not before taking a year off to teach English in Spain.

In looking back at her time at Dal, Kendra praises the mentorship of DISP instructors Dr. Gabrielle Tompkins and Dr. Kerrianne Ryan, as well as the friends who lasted through her undergraduate program. “Both Gabrielle and Kerrianne were important mentors to me as I worked through the challenges of doing the Science Communication and Leadership certificate and the rest of my degree,” she says. “Quite a few people from DISP went into marine biology, and we stayed friends and became part of the diving community.”

Kendra offers a final pitch for any students considering DISP.

You really get to know your professors, your classmates, and be in a small group, especially when I feel it’s easy to get a bit lost in the shuffle in your first year of university. — Kendra Mainprize

Finding chemistry – Owen Yoshida

Like many high school students living through the pandemic, Owen Yoshida’s (BSc’25) post-secondary plans were altered due to uncertainty over COVID-19 restrictions. Owen, a Halifax resident, had intended to study in Ontario but opted to stay close to home and attend ±«Óătv University.

Having been encouraged to explore the ±«Óătv Integrated Science Program (DISP) by Dal oceanography professor Hugh MacIntyre, whose son is a childhood friend, Owen began his Dal Science experience in the tight-knit DISP cohort. “I liked that DISP doesn’t tie you down in later years, and the interdisciplinary approach interested me,” he says. “And, of course, getting research experience in your first year is so valuable.”

All DISP students undertake an independent research project, and Owen’s focused on rock geochemistry with Dr. Lexie Arnott of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. A highlight was learning to code using the R programming language, which Owen says exceeded the basics taught in an introductory statistics course.

Two male students wearing masks stand with their hands clasped in front of them with a presentation board behind them in an indoor space. A mask-wearing Owen (right) presents his research project at DISP’s year-end showcase.

In his second year, Owen considered working toward a double major in earth sciences and chemistry, but scheduling conflicts made taking the necessary courses difficult. Instead focusing on chemistry, Owen excelled, pursuing an Honours research project in the lab of Dr. Alex Speed, and graduating in June 2025 with the University Medal in Chemistry as well as other departmental honours.

While the pandemic delayed his initial plans to study outside of Halifax, Owen has since moved to the west coast to begin a PhD at the University of British Columbia this fall. He can now look back at his DISP experience, which helped set him up for success at Dal and beyond.

“Getting to know the profs is great,” he says. “I still said ‘hi’ when I ran into them in the halls.” Owen also praises the social aspect of DISP and the instant community the cohort provides. “DISP helped with making friends and connections,” he says, noting that he remains close with several students from his first year.

In some regular first-year courses, you’re sitting in a big lecture hall and don’t really talk to people. Having 70-80 students in a DISP class makes a huge difference. — Owen Yoshida