“It wasn't my dream to study insects. What my dream was was to do science in a way that matters, that matters to people, and puts Indigenous communities priorities first. My approach to my professional life is values based,” Danielle Nowosad explains, recalling how she didn’t even want to do a PhD. Community asked her to study insects and she answered the call.

Nowosad is a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Calgary. She's a Red River Metis from Manitoba on her mom’s side and a German settler on her dad’s. In her free time she’s an artist, making beadwork and taking wildlife photography. She loves looking for birds, camping, gardening, snowshoeing and walking her dog.

Professionally, her postdoctoral work investigates the role of insects in disease transmission with caribou. She travels to Nunavut a lot and connects with Inuit communities. Her work varies seasonally. In the summer, she hires and trains Inuit youth to collect insects on the land. In the fall, she writes reports, analyzes data, shares about her work on national and international stages. Come winter, she’s in her Calgary lab and Nunavut with community members. She loves the variety.

When it came to her education, she started university in 2013 at University of Winnipeg, convinced she would do an arts degree and that science was too hard for her. She went on to spend 6 years finishing an undergraduate degree, a bachelors of science, after female mentors at her school encouraged her and she had opportunities to work in the North.

She worked in Churchill, Manitoba for four months as a research technician, an opportunity she was emotionally unprepared for. Nowosad ended up loving the work she did on over a dozen different research projects, collecting data out on the land. She became more convinced in her ability to do graduate studies and more excited to do it in the North where she felt such a strong connection to the land.  

Nowosad applied for a Master's position at the University of Guelph in Ontario in hopes of getting back up into the North and then the pandemic hit, squashing everything she wanted to do from labwork to travel. Her advisor reached out and asked if she wanted to do a PhD and she decided to pursue the next level of her studies. It was a level she loved, though it was stressful, hard, daunting and isolating. In the end, she set up an Arctic insect monitoring program and deepened her relationship with Inuit partners, positioning herself for future work. Ultimately, it was worth it, but it was a very challenging journey

Her advice for students going back to school after taking a break after a couple of years of school would be to make use of the many resources that are underutilized by students like free tutoring and financial support. She was able to go down from three jobs to one thanks to the support.

Nowosad also advises “all your life experiences can come together to help you in your education and your future career. Take chances. Pursue whatever it is that interests you, and don’t let your GPA define you as a person…. You’re so much more than that. Just know that you can get through the hard stuff and come through on the other side and still be successful.

As far as obstacles, Nowosad recalled some very challenging courses in her undergraduate studies that she nearly or actually failed. Despite her low GPA, with the help of a graduate study advisor, she petitioned to be accepted to grad school. She also received additional university support for her mental health. Indigenous student services really helped her, too, contributing to her passing a course that was preventing her from graduating. “It's all about being resilient and flexible. There's always going to be things happening, no matter when or where, and it's just a matter of knowing what's available, what's out there, and using them appropriately,” she affirms.

When it comes to balancing her mental health and wellbeing, Nowosad exercises strong boundaries so she has work life balance. “There's so much power in the word ‘no’ if you need to,” she confides, thinking of how she has limited her participation to get rest. When she works extra hours in the field, she banks the time so she can pursue her interests and rest in the offseason. The hobbies she pursues like camping, gardening, canning and preserving along with spending time with friends and family, all help keep her sane despite her demanding job. “I just think that there's this important counterbalance to how challenging academia can be as a career,” she shares.

As far as inspiration goes, Nowosad is inspired by the brilliant youth and communities she works with. She’s amazed by the work of Indigenous academics, blazing trails with their brilliance and big ideas. “I also just love the land. That sounds pretty basic, but I want to understand it, and I want to help,” she muses aloud.

In closing, Nowosad says, “There are so many different paths to success. For some people, it's school. For others, it's not and I think that not getting down on yourself for not being perfect all the time is really important. There's a lot of pressure put on us from so many different perspectives. And ultimately, I think you need to do what's right for you, and just be strong, be curious, be excited, and I think, make sure you have mentors and people you look up to to support you.”

Doing science in a way that matters to people, and puts Indigenous communities priorities first, Danielle Nowosad is conducting her professional life according to her values. At first, she thought science would be too hard, but with the right mentors, she found her way to a path where she shined. Insects weren’t her dream subject, but when community called, she answered.

Thanks to Alison Tedford Seaweed for authoring this article.