A Clear Identity for PAA Student Research: Haskap Berries

A Clear Identity for PAA

In 1982, the high school division of Burman University (then known as Canadian Union College) was given the name Parkview Adventist Academy (PAA). Giving the high school division its own name was borne out of the wish to give clear identity to the high school.

Almost forty years later, PAA is making another move to cement its position as a leading provider of Seventhday Adventist secondary education in Alberta. To ensure the long-term success of PAA, the governance of the school has moved from Burman University to the Alberta Conference of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Dallas Weis, PAA principal, first became a part of the institution when he started teaching for the high school in 1974. He taught for seven years and so thoroughly enjoyed his time that it influenced his decision to return as principal in 2018. Dallas holds the unique position of being a part of planning for the identity change in 1982. He is now a part of the leadership team that will guide PAA in its next chapter under the governance of the Alberta Conference.

“Moving our governance to the Alberta Conference will give us strong educational support and a solid foundation. It will give PAA a new building and a new peer group. I am excited for what is in store for our school,” states Dallas. He also enthusiastically welcomes Holly Kay into the role of vice-principal for the upcoming school year.

Holly has taught at PAA since 2017 and is bringing her expertise and creative ideas to the role. Holly is also happy about PAA’s new direction and anticipates seeing where God leads. Holly says, “I have felt since my first

Holly Kay, new vice principal

year at PAA that God brought me here to help navigate that change and grow it into pure unfiltered excitement! I think there are a lot of great things coming for this school and I’m grateful to get to be a part of it. A new building, growing into the Alberta Conference family, and continuing to foster an incredibly close school culture are probably the top three things that I am most looking forward to. God has His hand on this school, and watching Him work from this vantage point is an incredible honour.”

Student Research: Haskap Berries

Haskap berries, with their unique taste, colour, and texture, are quickly gaining popularity in Canada. Dr. Pekka Määttänen’s research on prebiotics and cardiovascular disease, funded by The W. Garfield Weston Foundation, has also given senior students at Burman oppportunities for research. One of these students is Ethan Burgess.

Ethan will graduate with a biology major and chemistry minor in 2021. Between now and then, he will apply to North American graduate schools

offering both medical degrees and doctoral studies.

His research at Burman is exploring new ways to grow and utilize haskaps in agriculture and healthcare. Under the supervision of Dr. Määttänen, Ethan has been working with various selections of haskaps to quantify C3G, the major anthocyanin in haskaps that is responsible for its dark pigmentation.

This biomolecule is of particular interest because of its known antioxidant capabilities and cardioprotective properties. By extracting C3G, Ethan was able to obtain the relative anthocyanin concentrations for each type of haskap. After extracting the soluble proteins, he took Brix measurements, an analysis of the sugar content of an aqueous solution. Dr. Määttänen will utilize his data in future human clinical trials.

Ethan writes, “In my free time, I was able to experiment with haskap cosmetics. I wanted to take advantage of the dark purple juice extract to make an organic and locally sourced lip chap formula.

“I am thankful for the opportunities Burman University creates by providing the resources and mentorship for

Photo by Paxton Huether

students interested in research.”