Nivi Ranjit, a third year Arts student at the University of Waterloo, discusses her change in educational path from healthcare, to majoring in economics and how the Enterprise Co-op (E Co-op) program with the Conrad School of Entrepreneurship and Business is helping to "start-up" her future.
"Throughout high school and my first year of university, I was completely invested in going into the healthcare field and becoming a surgeon. I had a full plan: I was going to complete my bachelor’s degree in biology, go to med school, do my residency and follow the path that a surgeon must follow. The classes in first-year biology were not how I expected them to be, though."
"In the second semester, I truly struggled, and I was just stressed 24/7. I realized I wasn’t actually enjoying any of the content as I used to, and as a result, I was doing poorly in my courses."
"Over the summer before my second year, I was having conversations with my father, who owns a business of his own, when I discovered my interest in business and entrepreneurship. I decided to switch programs from biology to something more related to business – that’s how I ended up in economics."
"I didn’t have any previous knowledge or experience with entrepreneurship, so I decided to do something related to it for my next co-op term. This is when I discovered the Enterprise Co-op (E Co-op) program with the Conrad School. I had a business idea that I figured I would apply with, and sure enough, I got in."
"The basic idea was to create an app that could connect patients with their doctors faster with the aim to shorten wait times in healthcare. Although I thought this could work at the time, I now realize it was too complex of an idea, especially for my first start-up. My conversations with various alumni advisors in E Co-op also affected how I look back at it now."
"After the first month of my E Co-op term, I decided to take a step back from this venture idea to spend the rest of the term learning about entrepreneurship, to find a venture idea that I might be better suited for and that I am still interested in."
"Thanks to Wayne Chang's guidance and advice, I learned a lot during the term and by the last month, found a venture idea that I am confident about pursuing. It is still early days and just a seed of an idea, but I feel so much better about it and I have a more realistic plan about how to go about starting it."
"The E Co-op program really helped me connect with various people, and also learn how to approach beginning a start-up."
"Switching my path was challenging at first but I believe I made the right decision. Business is the right path for me and I feel more motivated to work, learn and grow."