Blog posts archive

When I left UWaterloo for grad school, I could not have known the road ahead. I was off to make a difference in the lives of individuals and families. Two decades ago, that meant meeting individuals one-on-one. Now, there is a whole online community where health promotion, education, and support is easily accessible for many people. How times change!

Great reunion, great chats, great memories! Graduates of the School of Urban and Regional Planning (SURP) came together on Saturday, October 29, 2016 to celebrate their 35th year since convocation. Some graduates travelled as far as Vancouver and Montreal to attend the event, as well as several retired faculty.

Like many of my peers, my time at the University of Waterloo can be summarized as a unique juxtaposition of science and innovation. Personally, my math and business double degree gave me excellent insight into both sides of the entrepreneurial equation: the tangible and intangible.

If you were to ask me where I saw myself in the future during my first year at the University of Waterloo, I most definitely would have had a different answer than what my reality is today.

My name is Abilasha Rao and I started my journey into biological research in 2010 as a UWaterloo undergraduate, and since then it’s been quite the ride. 

The wonderful things I get to do....such as walk into my first undergrad biology lab. Yes, I’m that one. The one who clogs the traffic through the door because she’s stopped to grin. The one who can’t decide what to take from the course list because WHO WOULDN’T WANT THEM ALL!

We dash through life, our eyes fixed intently on a busy present and the promises of the future.  Days of sameness and moments of revelation stream by until we hit a milestone.  A transitional birthday, the death of a loved one, an invitation to a class reunion might make us stop, take a deep breath and glance back over our shoulders to take stock of our journey. 

The half-lives of businesses are shrinking, so companies need to have the maturity and thoughtfulness to stay on top — not just to get there.

I chose the University of Waterloo for my undergrad because it had one of the only co-op programs in Political Science and because it had a program, at the time called Applied Studies, which allowed me to explore my interests in a variety of subjects, while taking less courses in my major. I particularly enjoyed courses that allowed me to learn about other cultures. After graduating in 2001, I spent about five weeks traveling around Western Europe.

On July 23, another blazing hot southern Ontario Saturday brought another chance for University of Waterloo alumni to meet up and reminisce at Alumni Relations’ annual Family Day in Toronto.

It feels like just yesterday I boarded a flight and headed down to Florida to start my journey with Disney. The feelings of excitement mixed with nerves are still so fresh in my memory; I cannot believe that a year ago, I applied to the Disney Academic Exchange Experience.

A month and a half ago, I lived in Toronto and worked for a big bank. Now, I live in Hong Kong and work for a small software company. “Come help me run my business” my old UWaterloo roommate said during his visit to Toronto last Christmas. “Sure, why not” I replied. It’s one of those things you agree to over beers, and never really expect to follow up on. Oops.

I still remember the very first day I worked at UWaterloo’s convocation. I had just wrapped up a co-op term at the Registrar’s Office and was provided with the opportunity to usher during the Spring 2012 convocation ceremonies.

Class of '09 graduate and Governor General's Silver Medalist Cecile Monique earns a Top 5 spot in the M'era Luna Festival Newcomer Contest!

Five years ago, I founded Oopsmark to create the things I wanted to see in the world - mostly consumer products for bikes, bodies, or homes.

I often get asked why I founded my start-up, uCiC (you see I see).  For me the answer is simple, I want to work on something that would help break down barriers in our world. The value of being connected across geographic, social and language barriers is something I have seen first-hand and it goes back to my time at the University of Waterloo.

Alumni Relations invites you to join us at our annual Alumni Theatre Night for a performance of Upstart 2016: Festival of Innovative Theatre, produced by the UWaterloo Theatre and Performance Programme.

Upstart 2016 is a performance featuring original projects from students that can take any form, including but not limited to theatre, dance, poetry, performance art, film installations, and augmented reality experiences.

I have such wonderful memories from the University of Waterloo especially first year - new surroundings, experiences, and friends. It was in my dorm room at Ron Eydt Village (REV) that I read around 50 books on investing and opened my first brokerage account to start investing in stocks.

A start-up was probably the furthest prospect from the future I envisioned when I happily graduated from the University of Waterloo in winter 2010. I was young and really excited to take on my first full time job at Goldman Sachs.

I am Youssef Helwa, the CEO and co-founder of NERv. I am a University of Waterloo Nanotechnology Engineering graduate with extensive experience in the field of biosensors and microfabrication. NERv is one of the first members of the Velocity Science program. It aims to develop its sensors to one day eliminate the anxiety and worry associated with the occurrence of post-operative complications and the dangers associated with it.