A Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School graduate, who worked for NASA and is now doing cancer research, was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame.
“I am honoured,” said Jessica Scott, a 1998 graduate in the French immersion program.
She credited her high school teachers for providing her with a strong foundation: “I truly appreciate all the support I received growing up in Red Deer from my teachers, coaches, and family. I am very thankful for this special recognition.”
Hall of Fame recognizes alumni who have made a difference in their community, while being role models for future graduates.
After receiving a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Alberta in 2003, Scott completed her Masters degree and PhD at the University of British Columbia, where she studied the effect of prolonged exercise on heart function in athletes and heart-transplant patients
She attended the International Space University Summer Course in France in graduate school. After completing a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, she then spent five years as a senior scientist in the Exercise Physiology at NASA, where she studied how exercise training could help astronauts prevent the damaging side-effects of spaceflight.
Scott joined Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City in 2017 to research how the tools and exercise interventions used to keep astronauts healthy could be applied to help patients with cancer.
Scott was a member of the LTCHS Cross Country and Track teams and Catalina Swim Club. She was also a coach with the Marlins Swim Club.
“Jessica’s hard work, dedication and accomplishments are an inspiration to us all,” said Chris Good, principal at Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School. “It’s always exciting to see where the future takes our students after they graduate.”
The 29th annual Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony took place at LTCHS on Wednesday.