Liam Krebbers will be awarded the Governor General’s Silver Medal and UBCO Medal in Engineering
On Friday, June 7, UBC Okanagan will confer more than 2,000 credentials to undergraduate and graduate students over the course of six convocation ceremonies. Among them will be Liam Krebbers, who in addition to his parchment will take home one of the most prestigious awards that a Canadian post-secondary student can receive: a Governor General’s medal.
Krebbers, who was born and raised in Kelowna, will receive the Governor General’s Silver Medal and the UBCO Medal in Engineering at the 1:30 pm ceremony for the Faculty of Applied Science.
The Governor General’s Silver Medal recognizes undergraduate students who have achieved the best academic record out of all their peers throughout their university careers, while the UBCO Engineering medal goes to the campus’ top graduating engineering student.
The medals are among a long and growing list of awards Krebbers has earned since starting at UBCO back in 2020 – amid a global pandemic. He’s ready to soak up the grad experience, having missed out on his high school grad experience.
“I graduated high school in 2020 in the time of online and physically distanced ceremonies. I walked across the stage in a nearly empty arena, 15 minutes apart from my friends. I’m very excited to be part of an actual graduation ceremony. I’m looking forward to graduating with all my friends,” says Krebbers.
It won’t be long before Krebbers gets to put his next award – an Ivy League entrance scholarship – to good use. This fall, he’ll begin his PhD studies in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Princeton, one of the top engineering graduate programs in the world.
“I’m incredibly grateful for all the awards, encouragement and opportunities I received at UBC and am so excited to continue my journey at Princeton this fall,” says Krebbers.
Krebbers credits a second-year thermodynamics course with Dr. Sina Kheirkhah, an Associate Professor with the School of Engineering, for sparking a keen interest in combustion, laser-based diagnostics, and fuel flexible technologies.
Over the past two years, through his undergraduate research work with Dr. Kheirkhah, Krebbers has seized every opportunity to soar, including publishing multiple journal and conference papers.
“Having opportunities to attend conferences, publish and share my work and my experiences on both national and international stages, has been incredible,” says Krebbers. “It’s given me confidence and set me up for success in my future.”
He has his sights set on becoming a research professor.
“Not only is Liam hardworking and truly gifted, he is also kind and has an outstanding personality,” says Dr. Kheirkhah. “I am very proud of the work he has done, and I am confident he has a very bright future.”
The Faculty of Applied Science will grant degrees to 430 engineering students – 263 undergraduate and 167 graduate students – during the 1:30 pm ceremony on June 7, the final of UBCO’s spring convocation. Read more on UBCO’s Convocation page.