Introduce yourself briefly:
Hello! My name is Jonathan Kim, and I am a 2A Systems Design Engineering student, set to graduate in 2026!
Waterloo Engineering in one word:
Ambition
I choose Waterloo Engineering because:
I chose Waterloo Engineering for the same reason that many students here do, the amazing co-op program! I really liked the unique alternating sequence between study and work terms, which would help me to gain experience, pay off student loans, and catch a break between academically heavy terms.
The best thing about my program is:
I love the flexibility offered in SYDE! Going into university, I didn’t really know what I wanted to do as a career, and I was afraid of restricting myself to a single path. SYDE offers a more holistic approach to engineering, ensuring that no discipline is left undiscovered, and creates well-rounded engineers. I’m also a really big fan of the design courses, and I love that they translate well into product type roles.
About my Co-op experience:
I worked as a Cloud Engineer at Manulife Financial! I worked with pipelines, data, and log automation to ensure that all the infrastructure for the various internal teams was modernized and optimized. I really enjoyed all the opportunities for co-ops, including the finance-related workshops and networking sessions. The biggest highlight was meeting the other co-op students, some of whom I still talk to today!
I wish I had known before I came:
Living in student residence is something I’d recommend to any incoming students. I lived off-campus my first year, and I feel like a lot of my classmates and friends that lived in residence had a much easier time meeting up for hangouts, group work, and events on campus. Living away from school makes it harder to have motivation to get on campus and do fun things!
Outside the classroom, I’m involved with:
I am the Treasurer and Secretary for Hanvoice Waterloo, a chapter of the organization: Hanvoice that seeks to empower North Korean refugees and allow them to settle here in Canada. For hobby-related activities, I’m an Exec Team Support member for the UW K-pop Club, and I am also a general member of the Yu-Gi-Oh And Campus Crusade for Cheese (cheese tasting) clubs. In the past, I’ve acted as the Large Group Planning leader for Korean Christian Fellowship University of Waterloo, volunteered as a Full-Stack Developer for Tech+ UW, and organized as a class representative for my program.
A fun project I’ve completed:
In my 1B term, I worked with my lab partner and friend to create a scrolling letter on our 8x8 LED matrix. I really enjoyed having the opportunity to see a physical representation of the work we did, and it acts as a great reminder of the bonding we experienced working together throughout the term!
One more thing about me:
I love world geography! Currently, I’m trying to memorize every country in the world. I’m at about 150 countries currently, and my goal is to know them all by the end of this year :)