Student paper earns scholarship prize

UNBC student Lydia Kinasewich won the W. Kaye Lamb scholarship for her research paper about the history of Harrison Hot Springs. Awarded by the British Columbia Historial Federation, the competition is open to all students writing about topics related to B.C.'s history.

June 17, 2022
Lydia Kinasewich in Charles McCaffray Hall
Lydia Kinasewich won the W. Kaye Lamb scholarship from the British Columbia Historical Federation for her research paper examining the history of Harrison Hot Springs.

A favourite family vacation destination inspired UNBC student Lydia Kinasewich’s award-winning research paper.

Kinasewich received the W. Kaye Lamb scholarship from the British Columbia Historical Federation for her research into Harrison Hot Springs as part of a history of tourism in Canada course taught by Dr. Ben Bradley. 

"Doing research on Harrison Hot Springs was interesting since it was a family vacation spot when I was younger, and I really appreciated learning how the resort developed in the early twentieth century,” Kinasewich says. 

Kinasewich's paper, From Health Resort to Pleasure Resort: Re-Constructing Harrison Hot Springs as a Tourist Destination, 1920-30, earned top spot in the third- and fourth-year category of the federation’s annual competition.

“I was interested in researching how environmental destinations in Canada were promoted to tourists based on promises of health and wellness," she says.

The scholarship was open to all third and fourth-year undergraduate students writing on a topic related to the history of British Columbia. 

"This award is a big honour," Kinasewich says. "Over the course of my undergrad, British Columbia medical history has piqued my curiosity, so being recognized by the BC Historical Federation is very rewarding."