Written by Ammar Bookwala
Hi Everyone! My name is Ammar Bookwala and I am a recent graduate of the Kinesiology Program at the University of Waterloo. Currently, I’m an aspiring medical student at the University of Ottawa who should be starting first year in the fall!
As a proud AHSsie and Warrior, I learned early in my program about the importance of getting involved and doing what you can to give back to the university community. At first it was quite intimidating as I wasn’t sure what the right fit was for me. However, I realized that if I didn’t try, I would never know what I liked. So I entered the second semester of first year with the goal of participating in at least one new activity every term. I started with getting involved in AHSUM (Applied Health Sciences Undergraduate Members), which is the faculty’s student governing body. Before I knew it, I was involved in more activities than I could count! I feel that this helped me pursue a range of diverse interests, whether it was training students through Campus Rec or mentoring students through the AHS weCONNECTu program.
Two experiences that I really enjoyed getting involved with were donning at Village 1 and giving campus tours as a student ambassador. Giving campus tours gave me the opportunity to meet with prospective first-year students and tell them about the university that I love! Donning gave me the chance to mentor incoming and upper-year students and help them make the transition to life at university, while having a little bit of fun along the way.
Being a student at the University of Waterloo taught me the importance of doing what I could by giving back to the community and following my interests and passions. There are over 100 different student clubs and societies at Waterloo and if you don’t find one of interest, you can create your own! While many of us come to university with the goal of getting a job or pursuing a career, it is important to enjoy the experience as you go through it because it will be over before you can blink! Thanks to the University of Waterloo, I enter the next chapter of my life with confidence knowing that I have the tools and skills to succeed!