Blog posts archive

The year was 1997. I sat in the Blyth Festival theatre in anticipation of seeing my very first production of a Norm Foster play, The Melville Boys. I was in my last year of high school preparing to attend the University of Waterloo Dramatic Arts program that coming fall.

November 28^th is Giving Tuesday, an international event which promotes the spirit of generosity. With the holidays just around the corner, countless sales have the malls buzzing with shoppers trying to get the best deal.

If you’ve ever used your smartphone to get directions to the nearest coffee shop, you’ve benefited from a technology known as GIS. GIS is a computer system that enables us to capture, manipulate, analyze, and visualize all kinds of geographical data.

In May of 2016 I was commissioned by Galerie Q to paint twelve of Canada’s Prime Ministers for a series called ‘The Nation Builders.’ The former Prime Ministers to be included were: Sir John A. Macdonald, Alexander Mackenzie, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, Sir Robert Borden, William Lyon Mackenzie King, R. B. Bennett, Louis St. Laurent, John Diefenbaker, Lester Pearson, Pierre Trudeau, Brian Mulroney and Jean Chretien.

It is coming up on 31 years since Jennifer (BASc '91) and I met at the University of Waterloo. I was in second year Systems Design Engineering and Jennifer was one of two women starting in her Mechanical Engineering class. I’m so happy that we met.

When I was four years old I knew I wanted to be a nurse – not just any nurse, but a pediatric nurse who would train at Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children. I had spent time there as a patient so my passion for nursing became part of my DNA!

My experience at Waterloo as a student was amazing!  I wouldn't trade my degree; the lifelong friendships I gained, and most importantly the lessons I learned as a member of our Football program for anything!

My story is widely known in Athletics but perhaps not so well known among the greater university community.

It started innocently enough.  In the winter term of 2010, a hockey player in my class invited me to a game. 

In 1967, the pizza to order in residence was the “seafood special.” Being covered in anchovies, it guaranteed that no one would want to share or nab your pizza.  This particular pizza was the favourite of six Civil Engineering students that would continue to share meals together for many years to come.

It was late summer, 2002. At 20 years old, I had finished another academic term at the University of Waterloo and was ready for co-op. I had been matched with NVIDIA in Santa Clara, California and after spending my first work-terms near home, I was feeling excited and anxious about the journey.

History alumnus Joe Mancini (BA ’81; MA ’82) and wife Stephanie Mancini (BA ’82) were invested into the Order of Canada by His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, during a ceremony held at Rideau Hall, in Ottawa, on May 12, 2017.

Canada Day 2016 was a special day for the University of Waterloo History Department when it was announced that two of its long-time professors Jim Walker and John English and a former graduate student were named or promoted within the Order of Canada.

Recently the world experienced a shocking upset in a US election that online polls said was a sure win for Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Compared to online polls, in-person face-to-face polling avoids many of the inherent biases that the Internet brings and mobile devices are the perfect platform to do those surveys.

That’s a wrap! After five years at the University of Waterloo, I am saying my goodbyes and moving on. I know people will tell you that your time at university will fly by, but you won’t believe them. In the middle of exam season, your time in school will seem endless. But let me tell you, life has a way of sneaking up on you, and before you know it, you’ll be walking across the stage at convocation.

Waterloo Warrior, Mano Watsa (BA ’99) is the Owner and President of PGC Basketball - the largest educational basketball program in the world! It all started with a backyard basketball camp he created at the age of 15 and expanded during his time at the University of Waterloo.

In the summer of 2015, I decided to double down and bet on myself – I believed the odds were in my favour. Fast forward to almost two years later and I have to admit it’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made and it feels great to be right.

On April 22, 2017, UWaterloo’s annual Alumni Family Day took place at the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto. Alumni and their families enjoyed the Centre’s special exhibition Biomechanics: The Machine Inside, along with several exclusive-to-UWaterloo activities such as the EMG Muscle Car, Dexterity Duel, and Brain Hats building and colouring.

In 1966, I was a graduating high school student, and like others, was applying for university.  I accepted an offer from the University of Waterloo, not knowing very much about UWaterloo, but because it was the farthest from home (and my parents were unlikely to make drop-in weekend visits) and my good high-school friend would be attending WLU (Waterloo Lutheran University, at that time). Sound teenage logic.

From the OUA to the Olympics (and 3 lessons I learned along the way)

I graduated from the University of Waterloo in 2015 with a Master of Mathematics degree, but I've always been involved in sports in some way. People usually think I'm looking to work in analytics, but I'm more interested in game day presentation — player intros, hype-worthy music, Jumbotrons, and all. This past August, I became the first public address announcer from an Ontario University Athletics program to ever announce at the Olympic Games.

My husband Eli and I graduated from the University of Waterloo's Honours Arts and Business Co-op program in 2014. We have always been interested in innovation and entrepreneurship so this program suited us very well. While still attending UWaterloo, we played a game that we liked but thought we could make better and more convenient for others to play, so we formed a partnership with Eli's brother, Camren, and his wife, Krissy, to do just that.

John Young Running, Photo Credit: Mindy Randall

While I was a student at UWaterloo, I never considered myself very athletic.  Especially compared to my friends who played on the men's varsity hockey and the swim team. However, I did swim a lot on my own time, and played some intramural sports, including hockey, softball and broomball. During the summer of 1986, I travelled to Dearborn, MI to compete in the U.S. Dwarf games where I competed in both track and swimming.

For me, Fantastic Alumni Day at the University of Waterloo is all about family. It begins with my dad, mom, sister, and me suiting up for the big game in our black and gold apparel. My dad always wears his signature black and gold scarf. Time to head to campus for some basketball fun.

Back row: Anthony Fok (BMath '80), Stephanie Cheng (BMath '08), Cynthia Cheng (BSc '10), Iris Leung (BA '08), Keith Cheng (BMath '77), Gabriel Cheng (BSE '17) Front row: Anna Fok (BA '80), Joseph Leung (BMath '79), Alan Cheng (BMath '84), Lucilla Cheng (BMath '77)

I was born a Warrior.  For math alumni, it means in a sample size of 36 family members, 42% of my extended family and 100% of my immediate family are Waterloo alumni.  For AHS alumni, it means I am unstoppable. 

I started at the University of Waterloo in the fall of 1992 as a young woman who had planned most of her life to become “an artist” and throughout high school had been focused on becoming a concert pianist. Secretly though, I wanted to be a dancer.