Author: Blair Lockhart, Vancouver, BC

Melanie Jenkins credits the two years she spent completing a Master of Resource Management degree in Iceland with helping her to make an important career transition. She is senior manager, environment, for Pan American Silver Corp., a large Canadian mining company based in Vancouver. When she decided to focus her career on sustainability, Melanie opted to pursue graduate studies to help her transition away from investment banking and investor relations. She explored graduate programs in countries recognized for their sustainability leadership, such as Sweden, Norway, and England – and, at a colleague’s suggestion, Iceland. That’s how she learned about the University of Akureyri’s Master of Resource Management program at the University Centre of the Westfjords (Háskólasetur Vestfjarða), where she specialized in coastal and marine management, graduating with first class honours with distinction. Her outstanding work earned her a scholarship to study Arctic petroleum in Longyearbyen, Norway, and the opportunity to represent Iceland as part of the Arctic Frontiers Emerging Leaders program.

Author: Katrín Níelsdóttir, Winnipeg, MB

As the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre prepares for the world premiere of a new play in January 2027, a Winnipeg-based organization is working to ensure audiences understand the remarkable life behind the story.

The play will focus on Sir William Stephenson, the Winnipeg-born spymaster whose wartime intelligence work earned him the codename “Intrepid.” Supporting that effort is the Intrepid Society, led by Dwight MacAulay, which continues to advocate for broader recognition of Stephenson’s legacy in Canada and beyond.

“This is someone from Winnipeg who had a global impact,” MacAulay said in a recent interview. “We want to make sure people don’t forget that.”

Author: Merrill Albert, Providence, RI

Most people are familiar with puffins in Iceland, but did you know that the Atlantic puffin also lives off the coast of Maine? On a recent trip, I took a cruise out to one of the islands they live on. I learned that they have quite a history.

There was a time when puffins were quite plentiful in the area. Unfortunately, a desire for food and feathers for hats severely devastated the population in the 1800s. A once-popular island for puffins was down to one breeding pair by 1902. Raising one chick per year meant the population would never rebound.