Joanna Salsberg

Joanna Salsberg is a student that is both passionate in her academic studies as well as in contributing to the Guelph community.

In her academic work, Joanna is interested in understanding the connections between both natural and human environments and how these relationships shape the world. She is fascinated by how both of these ‘environments’ can be incorporated within urban planning to create successful cities. She first gained an appreciation for human-environment relationships in 2007, when she won a trip to the Canadian Arctic sponsored by Canadian Geographic and the National Capital Commission. It was here that she discovered her interest in researching how human and physical environments merge to create complicated issues such as climate change. Her four years at the University of Guelph have fostered this interest and allowed it to grow even deeper. Through a fourth year geography field course, Joanna was able to study human-environment interactions through the Town of Canmore’s relationship with its substantial and invasive feral rabbit population.

Joanna is involved within the University of Guelph community. She has been an active member of the Geography Society for three years. In her first year on the society she was a Second Year Representative, and then in her second and third years was elected to the position of Communications Liaison. She volunteered at three College Royals, which gave her the opportunity to interact with Guelph residents in a positive and educational way. Joanna volunteered with the English Language Buddy Program, a program that pairs an international student with a University of Guelph student. This organization allows international students to adjust to life at the University of Guelph and improve their spoken English skills.

Joanna earned academic recognition while completing her undergraduate degree. In 2012, she was awarded the Geography Alumni Scholarship. In 2013, she was awarded the prestigious Dr. F. A. Dahms Geography Alumni Scholarship. She was also added to the Dean’s List for every semester of her undergraduate career. Joanna was the Department of Geography's 2014 nominee for the University of Guelph Winegard Medal, recognizing her outstanding academic achievement and extra-curricular contributions.

Joanna graduated with a Bachelors of Arts (Honours) in Geography with a minor in Geographic Information Systems and Environmental Analysis. Joanna looks forward to starting her Masters of Urban and Regional Planning at Queen’s University in the fall.