Waterloo Engineering in one word:
Fulfilling
I choose Waterloo Engineering because:
It’s an amazing department with great professors. Waterloo Eng is regarded as one of the best Engineering departments in North America. I also have been able to meet a lot of like minded people and have made really important connections.
The best thing about my program is:
The size. Being in a small program has been great because it’s much more tight-knit and personal. It’s a rigorous program to be in but there’s also a lot to be learned from my fellow classmates.
About my Co-op experience:
I’m currently on my first work term. I am working for a NYC based startup called Pulse Insights as a data science intern.
I wish I had known before I came:
I remember being on cloud nine when I got accepted into SE here at Waterloo. I thought all of my problems would go away because I was in such a highly regarded program and I was past the hard part of getting in. But the reality of it is that it’s not glamorous. Succeeding in engineering takes commitment, discipline, and sacrifice. I didn’t sleep more than 4 hours a night for months on end, I cried more than I ever had, and I spent more weekends studying than I’d like to admit. Engineering really tests you as a person and pushes you to your limits. But here's the thing: now that I’m on a work term, I miss it. The “grind” was addicting. I learned more in the past year that I feel like I did in all of high school. I’ve made great friends, and I honestly feel like the I can do anything now that I’ve done a year of UW Eng, and all in all, it was very fulfilling.
A fun project I’ve completed:
I participated in Hack the North in 2020. My team's project was to create a chrome extension that childproofs the internet. This chrome extension is capable of blurring graphic images, censoring inappropriate words, blocking certain websites, and replaces big words with easier words for children to understand.
One more thing about me:
I was born and raised in Tokyo and I went to high school in the United States.