From international study to campus leadership, Tim Krupa makes the most of university
Ask Tim Krupa how to make a difference and the conversation turns to leadership.
The graduating science student at the Okanagan campus was recently voted mostly likely to change the world in a UBC Reports online campus contest.
Krupa believes changing the world is a team effort. Guiding people along a path where their individual efforts contribute to making a difference is how to effect seismic change, says the 21-year-old from Kelowna.
“That ability to check your ego at the door is the first thing you need to do to be an effective leader,” says Krupa, who expects to graduate with a BSc degree in Biology from the Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences at June’s convocation.
Krupa already has plenty of experience in questioning, informing himself, and helping shape positive change. He has been both a student member of UBC’s Board of Governors and the Okanagan Senate.
“My life at UBC has been an incredible learning experience. I have not only enjoyed a superior academic education, but I now have an idea of how the business of the university functions.”
Krupa’s grasp of the world—and how to change it—also spans the globe.
Wanting to understand what makes children happy, Krupa spent the past two summers in Zambia, developing soccer programs and studying happiness with youth. Supported by both an Irving K. Barber International Education Travel Subsidy in 2011 and an Irving K. Barber Undergraduate Research Award in 2012, Krupa consulted Associate Prof. of Psychology Mark Holder, whose research focuses on the science of happiness.
Deborah Buszard, deputy vice chancellor and principal of UBC’s Okanagan campus, says Krupa embodies the pinnacle of student excellence at UBC and his sense of values set a great example for others.
“We are justifiably proud of Tim Krupa’s accomplishments and contributions at UBC,” says Buszard. “Tim has a brilliant future and we can expect to hear much more from him as he furthers his education and embarks on a career that will no doubt benefit the greater good.”
Asked to project where he will be in five or 10 years, Krupa says it is too early to tell. But he’ll begin by pursuing a master’s degree in political science at UBC’s Vancouver campus this fall.
“I’m a policy wonk,” he says. “My goals are on the horizon. I think leading change and crafting policy on a Canadian scale would be a dream come true.”
The support of family—his parents, brothers and sister—have contributed to Krupa’s accomplishments and desires.
“All of my family members have had the ability to build upon their successes and they have been my personal inspiration.”
