The theme of this year’s International Women’s Day is “inspire inclusion.” Dr. Vivek Goel, president of the University of Waterloo, asked a few of the many inspiring female leaders at Waterloo to share the significance of mentorship within their personal and academic success.
Dr. Mary Wells, dean of Waterloo Engineering, recalls the mentors who inspired her and pushed her to succeed.
“When I went through engineering, there weren't that many females, so many of my mentors were men, and they were wonderful. But I did have one very, very strong female mentor, who was my PhD supervisor, Indira Samarasekera. I was so privileged to be her PhD student.
She taught me so much about the importance of grace and grit in the profession, and how to utilize both aspects of it. She went on to become the president of the University of Aberta, and did so while she balanced having a very successful academic career with raising a family. She is a wonderful writer, wonderful speaker and a very deep academic, and she taught me some very important lessons about academia, professionalism and how to be professional. I can’t overstate the role that her mentorship played in my life. I feel so fortunate to continue to call her a friend today.”
Go to Inspire Inclusion for the full story.