Waterloo Engineering in one word:
In one word, Waterloo Engineering is a journey. Everyone is going to have their own unique experience within the program, and gets the chance to learn more about themselves and the world around them. There will also be many memorable, impactful, and incredible opportunities, making the journey an amazing one. Waterloo Engineering is both a learning journey and a personal journey, as you get to discover so much more than what meets the eye.
I choose Waterloo Engineering because:
I chose Waterloo Engineering because I thought it was the best opportunity for me to learn about viable career opportunities. Going into the program, I still did not know which industries I wanted to go within, and I thought through the Chemical Engineering program, in tandem with the several co-op work terms, I would be able to learn about the different fields, and make an informed decision for my career post University.
The best thing about my program is:
The best thing about my program is how versatile and applicable the content taught within the courses is. Throughout the program, the courses are designed to build off of each other, and this sense of connection within the courses allows for the content to be easier to understand and interpret. Similarly, there are many lab and design courses within the program that allow for those concepts and ideas mentioned in the courses to be reinforced via hands-on experiences. The content is very much applicable to many different industries and settings, and I really do enjoy how you can leverage the knowledge learned in almost any setting.
About my Co-op experience:
Currently, I have completed 2 co-op work terms, working within IT at Alphora Research Inc., and as a Cohort Assistant for the First Year Engineering Office at UW. I am also just starting my 3rd co-op placement as a Reliability Engineering Intern at Emerald: Energy from Waste.
With my last co-op position with the First Year Engineering Office, I really enjoyed the opportunity to support the various initiatives and programs the First Year Engineering Office runs, and to engage and support first-year students directly. I was able to support first-year students by creating infographics with tips on studying and time management, presentations about various extracurricular opportunities and resources, and social events to allow for students to network outside the worry of assignments. It was such a unique and meaningful experience, as I got to be the help I would have wanted back when I started University.
I wish I had known before I came:
I wish I would have known that being uncomfortable is a good thing. Sure, being literally uncomfortable is not the greatest, but being uncomfortable in a more figurative sense is ideal in the University setting.
Being uncomfortable means that you are willing to adapt and be in a fluid environment, and are wanting to continue learning and seek new perspectives. University is a journey, and being comfortable with the path you are on means you are only paying attention to the one path you are on. Sure, that path can be awesome, but being uncomfortable means you are willing to look around in other directions, and potentially find another path that may be even more awesome! Being willing to adapt to change, and having the courage to step outside the comfort zone allows for the University experience to be that much more meaningful, and for me if it wasn’t for learning the value of this my University experience would be vastly different.
Outside the classroom, I’m involved with:
Outside of the classroom, I am currently involved with the Engineering Society, the Chemical Engineering Student Society, and Engineering Orientation.
In the Engineering Society, I am currently a Social and Events Commissioner! This role has been super fun, and focuses on facilitating and supporting the various social events that the Society runs. I get the opportunity to support Directors in running their various events, create and run different initiatives within the Society, and experiment with different projects to help the student community. For example, within the start of the pandemic, I helped create the Engineering Society Discord server to help keep students connected, and to run events on! It is still in use, and is a great place to meet people, so I encourage you to join it.
Within the Chemical Engineering Society, I am an Internal Director. Within this role, I get to facilitate programming within the faculty. This includes game nights, coffee houses, and meet the prof’s events, where students get to learn more about the research interests of the faculty. A lot of these events are meant for both students and professors, and the opportunity to get to meet and know professors you’d normally only meet in the classroom is really exciting.
Lastly, I am currently a Huge, a Junkyard Wars, and Aerial Photo Director for Engineering Orientation! It is so great to be planning these different events, as well as network with other like-minded Engineering students. The community and vibes are so positive, and I am super excited to help make this Orientation as inclusive and exciting as possible!
A fun project I’ve completed:
One fun project I worked on was in my first term of the program! In our design course, we had the opportunity to create a soap from scratch, partake in research on how to make the “best” soap, and market/brand our product to sell in a simulation-style event hosted by our prof. Everyone in the program was dressed up, and we were all in E5/E7 with poster boards trying to make money on our product. It was really interesting, but it was fun as this was one of the last times I got to connect with the Stream 8 class (as after 1A the Streams split until 4A), and seeing all the different ways to make soap was interesting to say the least!
One more thing about me:
I have a dog!