Friday, June 19, 2020

Convocation celebrations continue with Mathematics, Engineering

The University of Waterloo's virtual Convocation celebrations continue today and tomorrow as the University community recognizes this spring's graduating classes from the Faculties of Mathematics and Engineering.

Each graduand will receive an email from President Feridun Hamdullahpur with a personalized video featuring senior University leaders that marks this exceptional moment in the lives of each graduating student and their families.

For the Faculty of Mathematics, more than 1,163 undergraduates, 151 Master's, and 29 PhD candidates will be recognized and celebrated.

Interim Dean of Mathematics Kevin Hare recorded a message for Mathematics students, a condensed version of which is available as follows:

For the Faculty of Engineering, who will be receiving email messages on Saturday, June 20, 1,309 undergraduates, 410 Master's, and 104 PhD candidates will be recognized and celebrated.

Interim Dean of Engineering Rick Culham recorded a message for Engineering students, a condensed version of which is available as follows:

Family and friends of graduates, along with the entire UWaterloo community, are being asked to share their congratulatory messages online with stories, videos and social posts.

Check out Waterloo Stories for a full roster of Convocation-related content and the University's Convocation website for more information on how to give our latest cohort of graduates a proper virtual send-off. 

Becoming a leader of tomorrow

Jodi Szimanski, Faculty of Mathematics. This is an excerpt of an article originally published on Waterloo Stories.

As Kerthanan Srikantharajah reflects on his time at the University of Waterloo, he feels that he’s leaving ready to become a leader and make things happen. Equipped with a BMath, Honours in Actuarial Science with a Finance option, Joint Honours in Statistics, a minor in Computer Science and four job offers, the road ahead looks promising.

Srikantharajah believes that Waterloo helped him to build the skills, knowledge and expertise necessary for the real world. His classes and co-op positions challenged him and gave him valuable experience that’s beneficial in today’s society.

“With so much of the world moving towards automation and artificial intelligence, someone being competent in math is highly valuable,” Srikantharajah notes.

Extending knowledge on the job

Srikantharajah started implementing what he learned in class at his first co-op position as a junior accountant at the law firm Fasken, Martineau, DuMoulin. Housed in the offices where the television show Suits was filmed, Srikantharajah met top lawyers and helped the accounts payable department improve their business processes. His next co-op position allowed him to work in the field of Actuarial Science. At Gore Mutual Insurance, he gained experience in data processing, finding patterns and developing solutions to real-world problems that would land on the desks of senior management.

He continued to get exposure to senior management at Intact Insurance. His previous experience and networking at Waterloo’s information sessions landed him the role. His most notable project involved a report for management about whether to continue a specific change implemented in their business.

“That showed me how much we could do as a co-op student,” Srikantharajah says. “We can make changes and move companies to be in a leader in different sectors.”

Srikantharajah landed his last co-op term at PWC in New York where he showcased his skills that he developed from prior co-op positions, to help develop an advanced analytics team. He successfully helped roll out several machine learning projects to generate revenue and identify potential cost reductions for several clients.

Read the rest of the article on Waterloo Stories.

Engineering her future

By Carol Truemner, Faculty of Engineering. This article will appear tomorrow on Waterloo Stories.

Mariko Shimoda is officially graduating this week with a University of Waterloo engineering degree, a full-time position with the company she worked for during her last co-op term and invaluable experience gained from volunteering over the past five years.

The list of leadership roles Shimoda held throughout her mechanical engineering undergraduate program is as impressive as it is exhaustive.

Passionate about giving back to the University and community by volunteering, Shimoda was active with the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association as the co-op and experiential affairs commissioner.

She was also the external director for the University’s Racial Advocacy for Inclusion, Solidarity and Equity (RAISE) group. Members work to address racism and xenophobia on the University of Waterloo campus.

“It’s a student-run group that is more important than ever right now and deserves recognition for its hard work,” she says.

Shimoda supported the Faculty of Engineering as an academic representative, serving as the voice of mechanical engineering students on a variety of academic issues, shadow day director, an engineering ambassador and a brand ambassador.

Throughout her undergraduate education, she held a variety of Engineering Society (EngSoc) positions including first-year commissioner, vice-president of student life and president of EngSoc, a role in which she represented 7,500 undergraduate students.

As an EngSoc executive member, she led outreach programs for elementary children at THEMUSEUM in Kitchener, helped the Food Bank of Waterloo Region and took part in the Toronto Pride Parade.

Contributing to student mental health

Committed to the well-being of her fellow students, she ran several mental health initiatives, wrote a mental health blog and developed a mental health resource guide for students located on EngSoc’s website.

“The guide is about how to navigate the mental health system at Waterloo,” she says. “It includes other information such as how you would go about seeing a psychiatrist, how you would go about asking your doctor about medication and how to find a therapist when you’re on co-op.  All that sort of stuff.”

Her interest in becoming an engineer was sparked in Grade 11 when she attended Waterloo’s Women in  Engineering (WiE) Catalyst Girls Conference designed to develop an interest in engineering by showcasing the variety of work and careers in the field.

While at the conference, she dissected an engine, used drill presses and designed bridges and pulley systems.

“That was when I decided okay, engineering is what I want to do,” Shimoda says.

Shimoda volunteered for WiE in Grade 12 and became a member when she began her engineering degree. As part of WiE, she encouraged young girls to get involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through its programs.

She served as a community peer leader at WiE’s Living-Learning Community located at St. Paul's University College that provides transitional, social and academic support and guidance for first-year engineering students who identify as female.

Recognized with an impact award

Last fall, Shimoda received one of two Community Leader awards through the President's Community Impact Awards initiative.

The awards recognize individuals or teams of community members, students, faculty or staff who embody the University’s spirit of innovation and contribute to making Waterloo Region strong and prosperous.

“At Waterloo, it’s easy to think we’re all students going to school, but at the end of the day we’re part of the larger community,” she says. “And I think if you can give back, it’s great because you become more connected to the people living in the city."

Next month, Shimoda begins a full-time job at Kitchener-based Clearpath Robotics as its client success program manager.  She spent her last co-op work term at the company founded by four Waterloo Engineering alumni. 

Shimoda is grateful to have taken part in Waterloo Engineering’s iron ring ceremony held this past February before the COVID-19 pandemic closed the campus and is now over the initial disappointment she felt when his spring’s traditional convocation ceremony was cancelled.

“My journey and my classmates’ journey at Waterloo may be done, but there is so much more that each of us can do in the world to make a difference,” she says. And I’m sure it’s not the last time my classmates will see each other. There’s always reunion and other events.”

Student advisory committee approves $200K for co-op student wellness

A message from the Office of Advancement.

Building on a $1M donation by Neil and Gisele Murdoch, parents of Waterloo alumni, the Student Services Advisory Committee (SSAC) has approved funding of $200,000 to support new wellness services for co-op students. 

The Murdochs’ $1M gift is creating new counsellor positions to help students prepare for the challenges they face during work terms — including complications arising from the pandemic. Students now have faster access to mental health and wellness support through phone and virtual consultation. A new digital tool enables them to interact securely with campus wellness practitioners using video-calling technology. 

The funding from the SSAC—the committee that reviews services supported by the Student Services Fee—will support an additional counsellor position as well as the virtual health care service.

This was one of a very few proposals that were approved by SSAC.

You can read more about the new services and the role they play in student life on Impact Stories.

Good Buddies of the University cross the Convocation stage

Stanley the Miniature Daschund, the very Good Buddy of student Maliyah Bernard, first came to our attention on April 3, but we just couldn't let Convocation week slip by without bringing him back. Just look how cute!

"Here is my service dog Marlowe," writes Emma Collington of the Biology department. "He has been finding the switch to working from home a bit difficult, but he doesn't mind having to lie on the couch during meetings. He misses seeing students around campus, but is helping me TA Biology 309 and is always happy to help out with virtual office hours or bark during a tutorial to let students know he supports them." 

"I just brought home my own new Good Buddy a week ago – Sophie, a four-year-old Bengal," writes Professor Sheila Ager, dean of the Faculty of Arts. "She and I are still getting used to each other, so the bonding has a little way to go yet. As you can see in the first photo, she apparently likes to be with me, but she doesn’t quite wish to commit fully to engaging with my activities – that’s how I read the semiotics of her stance. In the second photograph, however, she is definitely expressing her empathy for me – she’s clearly exhausted after I had a hard day."

"Heather and Josh Neufeld welcomed Josie into our family today, rehomed as part of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) Northern Dogs Project, which helps support sustainable dog population management programs with First Nation communities," writes Biology Professor Josh Neufeld. "Josie is a 10 week-old lab/husky mix - she is smart, loves to play outside and explore, and naps in the shade of a tree."