In memoriam: Emma Sydney MacIntosh Machado

Emma Sydney MacIntosh Machado, a first-year science student at UVic, passed away on Sept. 13, 2019, as a result of a bus accident on the way to the Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre while on a UVic biology field trip.

In honour of the wishes of her family, UVic has established a scholarship in the Faculty of Science (Department of Biology) in remembrance of Emma. Beginning in the 2020 fall term, the scholarship in Emma’s name will be awarded annually to a student in the biology department.

Emma was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba on Feb. 9, 2001, the second daughter of Jose Machado and Ethel MacIntosh. She and her older sister, Samantha, grew up in Winnipeg attending Balmoral Hall School from age five until her graduation in June 2019.

Emma volunteered at the Manitoba Museum in the museum gift shop and summer camps for many years. The summer after graduation she worked as a camp counsellor at the museum and was an enthusiastic and valued employee, enjoying the camaraderie of her work mates and the young children who attended summer camps.

She happily assisted the kindergarten teachers at Balmoral Hall during virtually all spare classes she had in Grade 12, as she had in the afterschool program throughout high school. She was a friend and valued mentor to many individuals. She was an active member of many clubs and helped to initiate the first pride parade at Balmoral Hall. She would often reach out to support and encourage anyone struggling with academic or personal issues.

Emma had many interests including music, travel and curling. She played drums and guitar and would send short videos of herself playing and/or singing to her many friends.

She had the opportunity to travel to locations such as Kenya, Iceland, the Czech Republic and the Netherlands on family holidays and visited Peru and Costa Rica on service trips while in high school. She saw more than half the United States and visited all Canadian provinces except Newfoundland, falling in love with the West Coast. After visiting the University of Victoria campus in 2018, she couldn’t see herself as anyone but “an island student.” In September 2019, that vision of herself became a reality as she joined the faculty of science at UVic.

Emma had a passion for the environment which led to her interest in ocean sciences and ultimately to her all too brief time at the University of Victoria as a student. She was an intelligent and strong-willed individual with an amazing sense of humour and compassion. Emma was optimistic that she and other young people like her would lead the charge to a more robust thoughtful world view where inequalities would ebb and a healthier planet would emerge.

—Submitted by Jose Machado and Ethel MacIntosh