Friday, July 26, 2024

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• Taking aim at an Olympic medal
• Alumni Family Day brings friends together on Toronto Island
• Waterloo changed my life in unexpected ways
• Friday's notes

Taking aim at an Olympic medal

By Jennifer Ferguson. This in an excerpt of an article originally published on Waterloo News.

“It isn’t going to feel real until I walk into the village and see the Olympic rings.”

When speaking to Eric Peters (BSc ’22) days before his first Olympic event, he appears calm and focused. After over a decade of training, practicing and competing in archery, he’s feeling ready to make his Olympic debut at the Summer Games.

“Coming here, knowing that I’m representing Canada, and all that hard work that I’ve put in over many, many years ... it just feels really good,” he said with a smile. “It’s a bit of a relief. I’m a little anxious and excited ... lots of feelings.”

Peters grew up in Ottawa, Ontario, but has been living in Kitchener since he attended the University of Waterloo. His archery career took off while he was a student in the Faculty of Science and Eric says he’s grateful for the supportive professors who helped make it possible for him to live out his dreams, while keeping up with his studies.

“I remember I wrote a quantum mechanics exam in Dr. Nooijen’s office because I had to jump on a plane right after and go to another country for an event.”

Peters has been shooting a bow since he was 11, but his parents weren’t keen for him to take up a shooting sport at that age.

“I got into it because I was a nerdy kid. I like fantasy books, movies and games and all that sort of stuff,” he said. “The idea of archery really appealed to me, and I begged my parents to let me try it.”

When he came to Waterloo, Peters found camaraderie with the UW Archery Club. He regrets not having more free time to be involved as a student but appreciates how they’ve built awareness for the sport.

“I used to say ‘it’s not very often people get to try archery’ but the UW Archery Club is making that happen. They’re always very busy at the beginning of each semester with students who are excited to give it a try,” Peters said.

Following the Archery World Cup in Antalaya, Türkiye in June, Peters is ranked fifth in the world. At the World Archery Championships in 2023, he won silver in the men’s individual recurve event. Eric also represented Canada at two Pan American Games — Santiago 2023 and Lima 2019, where he was a double medalist.

Standing on the podium at the Summer Games would be historic, not just for Peters, but for Team Canada which has yet to win an Olympic medal in archery.

Read the rest of the story on Waterloo News

Alumni Family Day brings friends together on Toronto Island

A message from Advancement.

Thanks to the support from many volunteers and cross-campus partners, Alumni Family Day on Toronto Island was a huge success!

On Saturday, July 20, more than 250 alumni, students, friends and family hopped on the ferry for a beautiful summer day on Toronto Island, hosted by Alumni Relations.

With the sun shining, BBQ fired up and DJ playing party jams, attendees enjoyed a delightful picnic with breathtaking views of the Toronto skyline.

Alumni and friends of all ages challenged one another to games, completed crafts and activities and had caricature drawings made of them.

This event would not have happened without the hard work and support from many staff and volunteers, including the Toronto Alumni Chapter and several on-site campus partners — the School of Accounting and Finance, Athletics and Recreation and the Faculty of Health.

Thank you to everyone who helped make Alumni Family Day possible.

See you next year!

Check out the photo gallery.

Waterloo changed my life in unexpected ways

From the 2024 issue of Waterloo Magazine: Happiness. 

Gil Aburto-Avila first learned about the University of Waterloo in the pages of the Journal of the Association for Computing Machinery while he was a university student in Mexico. After applying to complete a master’s degree, he arrived on campus in 1968 and settled in to the Student Village.  

During his time at Waterloo, he made many friends and met amazing people including the woman who would become his wife. They now have five sons, three who are Waterloo graduates. 

Read more about why Gil chose to move from Mexico to study at Waterloo, and why he continues gives back as an alumnus.  

Friday's notes

Today is payday for those employees on the monthly payroll schedule. If you feel like celebrating, there are two more musical interludes happening on Sunday as the end of the term comes into view.

First up is Sweet Dreams: UWaterloo Jazz Ensemble, which takes place on Sunday, July 28 at 2:00 p.m. You're invited to join the Music department "a highlight of the Spring term, the 20 member jazz ensemble concert.  Directed by Michael Wood, the Jazz Ensemble plays a wide range of jazz standards and newer compositions. This term the ensemble is featuring the music of George Gershwin and Pat Metheny."

Admission is free for the concert in the Great Hall at Conrad Grebel University College, which is close enough for jazz, as they say.

Next up is Orchestra@UWaterloo, performing Serenades, Ships, and Tombs on Sunday, July 28 at 7:30 p.m., Knox Presbyterian Church, located at 50 Erb St. West in Waterloo. Directed by well-known local musician Daniel Warren, the orchestra will play the following pieces:

• Mozart Symphony no. 35;
• Mendelssohn, Hebrides overture;
• Cherubini Symphony in D Major;
• Sibelius, Valse Triste; and 
• Ravel’s Tombeau de Couperin.

Admission is also free for this event.

Finally, Information Systems & Technology (IST) has published the latest in the Atlassian Blog Series entitled Atlassian update: Jira Service Management.