Photo credit: Pam Doyle

Sandra Keith is no stranger to competing on the world stage. She won a gold medal at the European Cup in 2003 and represented Canada in 2006 at the Turin Olympics. She had a breakthrough year in 2008 with an 11th place finish at the Biathlon World Cup.

She has been a Bachelor of Commerce student since 2002. "The most vivid memory I have of everyone working on their AU courses together is when we're ... in Kananaskis Country (Alberta) ... at a training camp for elite cross-country skiers and biathletes. After a long morning of skiing on the glacier and a big lunch, everyone pulls out their textbooks and starts working away. Whenever our coach complains that our bags are too heavy or we have too much stuff, we always blame our AU textbooks!"

Despite a health problem that severely impacted on her ability to compete, she was able to get strong enough in summer 2009 to re-qualify for the World Cup team. But the illness persisted into the fall and her results on the World Cup suffered significantly. She was unable to qualify for the Olympics. "I wish my all my heart that things had turned out differently, but I've now learned that sometimes life throws you a curve ball." In spite of her disappointment, she still went to the Games as a spectator and cheered on her teammates.

In addition to her athletic accomplishments, Keith has received both the AU Academic Leadership Scholarship and the Community Leadership Award, presented to students who maintains a high academic standard and who have proven leadership skills combined with active participation in extracurricular activities.