Bursary in first year set the stage for major research awards for standout kinesiology undergrad

What’s the return on a $500 Special Consideration Bursary?

For kinesiology student Maxwell Schaub, it was three major undergraduate research awards, a pair of scholarships, a near perfect GPA and an offer letter from the University of Alberta for graduate studies.

The bursary came midway through Schaub’s first year. He had yet to find a part-time job to fit into his studies and extracurriculars. Money was tight and he was down to just one meal a day. A student case manager reached out and topped up Schaub’s meal plan.

With the bursary came an epiphany. “It was time to stop surviving and start living,” says Schaub.  And that’s what he did for the remainder of his four-year degree, paying his way through school by combining his passions for performing in front of crowds and doing interdisciplinary research on campus.

Schaub turned a volunteer stint with the Forge FC medical team into a job as Sparx, the soccer club’s mascot. His performance during games and out in the community led to a second job as Stripes, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats mascot.

He also made some money playing in a Hamilton band. During Covid, Schaub taught himself how to play bass guitar. “Growing up, my dad would call me his rockstar and then I became one.”

When he wasn’t on stage or at the stadium, Schaub worked as an undergrad research assistant in three labs at the same time – LIVELab, Laurel Trainor’s Auditory Development Lab and the McMaster Digital Transformation Research Centre led by director Milena Head.

“Max was not your typical undergraduate student,” says Head, who supervised Schaub. “He has a rare combination of intellectual rigour, creativity, leadership and genuine kindness. What immediately stood out about Max was not only his intelligence and work ethic, but also his positivity, and remarkable ability to think outside the box.”

According to Head, Schaub easily fit in with PhD students and postdoctoral fellows. “Despite being the only undergraduate on the team, he quickly earned everyone’s respect through his maturity, humility, communication skills and willingness to contribute thoughtfully.”

His standout work at the centre earned Schaub back-to-back NSERC Undergraduate Student Research Awards along with an Undergraduate Summer Research Fellowship Award from the McMaster Institute for Research on Aging.

Other honours would include the Nancy Car Memorial Scholarship, the Rose Hill Scholarship, the Karen M. Mason and Ross H. Mason Bursary, a Student of Distinction Award from the McMaster Students Union and a Most Valuable Program Assistant Award from SHAD Canada.

Schaub’s interdisciplinary research into visual perception brings together neurotechnology, infrared eye tracking and aging research. He’s looking at how digital technology can be made more inclusive and intuitive for older adults whose visual perceptions change with age. It’s a personal mission for Schaub – his grandmother is dealing with macular degeneration. He’ll be continuing his research as a graduate student at the University of Alberta this September.

“Research gets me as close as possible to being an explorer – that’s my dream job. Unfortunately, the whole world is mapped. Discoveries now happen in science, not cartography. So I’m applying my curiosity to understanding and uncovering the mysteries of human beings which I think are the planet’s most fascinating creatures.”

Schaub credits a network of connectors for introducing him to undergraduate research and opening doors- Pina Del Monte, Audrey Patocs, Milena Head, Brendan Stanley, Michael Galang, Grace Mullen, Jeannie An, Cameron Prosic and the staff in Academic Advising and the Science Careers & Experience Centre with the Faculty of Science.

It wasn’t all work and no play for Schaub during his undergrad. He took dance and jiu-jitsu lessons and was part of the McMaster Students Union executive board, the McMaster Kinesiology Society, the McMaster Ukrainian Students’ Association, the McMaster Polish Society, the Humanities Fall Major as lead actor, McMaster Friends of Medicines sans Frontiers, McMaster Health Technology, and the Honour M Scholarship Board.

An elbow injury brought an end to his playing career with the McMaster Baseball Team after two seasons. He traded the ballpark for olympic marksmanship, becoming a member and mentor with McMaster University Shooting Sports. Schaub, alongside the McMaster team, won the 2024 Ontario Universities Championships in the sporting rifle category.

He also served on The Silhouette’s Board of Publication in a full circle moment. His paternal great grandfather – Charles Hunter MacBain – was among the first to serve as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper following the university’s move from Toronto to Hamilton in 1930.

MacBain would go on to become head of public relations for Westinghouse Electric Corporation, writing speeches for five company presidents. In a January 1954 speech written for a Hamilton Chamber of Commerce event, MacBain first coined the term Golden Horseshoe.  “Hamilton in 50 years will be the forward cleat in a ‘golden horseshoe’ of industrial development from Oshawa to the Niagara River,” wrote MacBain.

Like he did all through undergrad, Schaub will be wearing his great grandfather’s signet ring at his June Convocation ceremony when he graduates from the Department of Kinesiology with a 3.93 GPA.