Andrea Bailey: A Brief Biography
Andrea Bailey was a remarkable and gifted young woman. She was poised to join
the proud ranks of Women in Science and Engineering when her life was ended
swiftly and tragically by cancer.
To her friends, Andrea is a hero. She faced and overcame many obstacles in her
young life. As a toddler, Andrea lost an eye to cancer, and the sight in her
other eye was severely impaired by treatments to prevent the cancer's spread. As
she grew up, however, Andrea never wanted special treatment of any kind, and
many of her friends didn't know of her disability. She earned her reputation as
a fighter very early, with the activities she chose to pursue. She was
determined to do what the other kids did, and to be good at everything she
tried. She and her horse, Charlie, participated fully in the training and
competitions of Pony Club, including stadium jumping and cross-country courses.
She fearlessly participated in the Nancy Green ski-racing program, rode her
mountain bike, and hiked steep trails and passes in the Rocky Mountains.
Andrea grew up bilingual and a high achiever in all aspects of her studies at
West Island College in Calgary, despite periodic interventions to improve her
sight. Influenced both by her artistic, French-speaking mother, and her
English-speaking engineer father, Andrea was attracted to art, literature and
science. She loved to draw and paint, and excelled in these pursuits. She had
limitless possibilities for a successful career in anything she chose to pursue,
and she chose to be an engineer. "No assignment seemed insurmountable to
Andrea, and she seemed to thrive on challenge", was the observation of her
supervisor at Tartan Engineering Ltd last summer. Andrea was pursuing a
concurrent degree in Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science at the
University of Western Ontario when she was struck by her final illness.
In September of 1998, soon after Frosh Week activities in her fourth year,
Andrea became ill and was diagnosed with liver cancer. The prognosis was poor.
This was a secondary cancer from a melanoma that had been discovered in 1996.
Despite her determination and desire to overcome her illness, it soon became
clear that she could not. She accepted the inevitability of her death, and kept
her cheerful countenance throughout.
In a tribute to her achievements, the University of Western Ontario awarded her
BESc degree at a special convocation ceremony in October, and she was given her
iron ring. She was still well enough to celebrate with her many friends who
attended the ceremony. A memorial tree planting ceremony was held in November on
the University of Western Ontario campus; Andrea chose an apple tree because it
symbolized beauty, youth and happiness in the Native American tradition.
Andrea Bailey passed away on November 26, 1998. Her friends remember her for her
intelligence, her courage, her persistence, and her wonderful smile.
In honour of Andrea, a memorial scholarship fund has been set up to give an
annual award to a deserving fourth year woman engineering student at the
University of Western Ontario. Tax deductible contributions to this scholarship
will both honour Andrea and support another Woman in Engineering.
Contributions may be marked "Andrea Bailey Memorial Scholarship" and
addressed c/o the Department of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, Faculty
of Engineering Science, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, N6A
5B9.
IN MEMORY OF ANDREA BAILEY
