Jael Penner is a problem solver. Give her a computer and a challenge to overcome and watch her go. With a smile on her face and her fingers dancing across the keyboard, she’ll have a solution worked out in no time at all. 

“It’s super rewarding and I kind of get a rush of adrenaline when I figure out a problem,” Jael says with a smile. “The problem-solving process can sometimes be frustrating, but it’s a learning process that allows me to grow my skills, and when I get it right, it’s like, ‘Yes! I did it!’” 

That persistence is a big reason why Jael is the 2025 Governor General’s Bronze Medal recipient, achieving the highest academic standing of any student in a diploma program. She earned a sparkling 4.33 CGPA in the two-year Computer Information Systems (CIS) diploma program. 

Jael’s love of computers, and specifically software and programming, goes back to her formative years of online schooling through Abbotsford Virtual School.  

“In Grade 5 I was in a 3D design class, and in Grade 6 I was in a Google class and learned some basic programming,” she explains. “All of my middle school coursework was online, and I was always clicking around like, ‘Ooh! How does this work? What does this do?’” 

She took more advanced programming courses in high school, and after graduating from Regent Christian Online Academy, Jael joined Silver Hills Bakery in Abbotsford as a student software developer. Among the projects she’s worked on is developing and maintaining an app to manage the many recipes that Silver Hills uses. 

“We work with a lot of recipes for the bread we make, plus a whole lot of other things,” she says. “Writing code for an app like that, the challenge is how do we tap into a lot of different databases from multiple sources and bring it all together to get the exact data that we want. There’s a lot of thinking that goes into that.” 

One of the biggest things Jael has learned from her work at Silver Hills, and applied to her studies at UFV, is knowing when to take a break from tackling a problem. 

“I’ve had so many times at work and at school where I had different problems to solve and I just couldn’t figure it out,” she says. “I learned to step away and come back to it later, and usually I end up solving the problem and thinking ‘Oh. That wasn’t that hard.’” 

For students starting down the path she’s just taken, Jael’s advice is to ask lots of questions. 

“Be curious. Think about what the professors are saying during lectures, and what you can ask them,” she says. “For me, that helps solidify what I’m learning and reassures me that I’m understanding the content. And the other thing would be to plan your time wisely and know what your priorities are. Time management is super important.” 

With her diploma in hand, Jael now plans to carry on and pursue a bachelor’s degree in Computer Information Systems with a concentration in software development and a certificate in communications. With all that done, she may end up where she already is, because she loves the people and the work at Silver Hills. 

“I’d like to get better at what I’m already doing, be more efficient with my time, and be able to do bigger and more complex things for the company,” Jael says. “I love where I am and what I do.”