Engineering students awarded University's new HeForShe scholarships

“I’m so inspired by the University of Waterloo’s efforts to achieve gender equality in our lifetimes,” said Emma Watson, UN Women Global Goodwill Ambassador. “Their commitment to women in STEM is unparalleled. This scholarship programme is a perfect example of how the HeForShe movement is generating tangible change around the world.”

​Sally Hui - Mechatronics Engineering

Even before she started her engineering program, Hui had already felt the warmth of the Waterloo community. “I'm excited about meeting people at

the Waterloo campus because they are all really friendly on Facebook and they were really welcoming when I went for the open house,” says Hui. She adds that seeing projects like the Midnight Sun race car and the Concrete Toboggan increased her enthusiasm about innovation at the school, and her interest in getting involved.

Already a robotics enthusiast, Hui says her interest was stimulated by the physics, robotics, and computer science courses she took in high school. In terms of future career plans, she’s considering becoming a product design engineer, but also plans to use her time at Waterloo to explore options, particularly through the co-op programs.

In terms of extracurriculars, Hui worked as a math tutor as well as a writer for the website of Talented Offerings for Programs in the Sciences (TOPS), an enrichment program at her Toronto high school, Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute. Lately, she’s also become interested in amateur photography.

Hui says she’s grateful to receive the HeForShe scholarship. “It is good to not have to depend on my parents as much and it will be a really good incentive to study really hard to keep the scholarship,” she says. Although she says she hasn’t felt discouraged from pursuing STEM fields, she has noticed the lack of female faces in her classes. “In the technology courses that I took, there were maybe five females in a classroom of twenty people,” recalls Hui.

Jenny Ma - Computer Engineering

Engineering is a family occupation for Ma — her father was a mechanical engineer, her grandfather a civil engineer, and her grandmother taught

math at university. “I come from a family that’s very dedicated to this field,” says Ma. Friends and family directly influenced her decision to choose Waterloo. 

Immigrating to Canada from China when she was seven, Ma grew up in Whitby. Besides immersing herself in math and physics courses, she was very involved in her community, volunteering for her school’s breakfast program, a seniors’ home, summer camps, the Salvation Army, and for the Whitby Youth Council where she led the youth mentorship program. She even founded a club at her school to help connect students with volunteer experiences.

While her volunteerism began with 40 hours required of Ontario high school students, Ma says the rewards kept her going far beyond that. “I really liked getting these experiences that you normally wouldn't have, and meeting these people that you normally wouldn't meet. That's what encourages me to keep volunteering,” she says.

Another important extracurricular activity for Ma has been DECA, a youth business program where students compete on cases. In Grade 12, she helped plan a regional competition, and participated in the international competition in Florida where she won fifth place. Not surprisingly, she’s eager to check out clubs at Waterloo, including student council and computer engineering clubs.

Ma says she is thankful for the HeForShe scholarship, and is already familiar with the bias against women, particularly in terms of the negative reaction she receives even from those close to her when she tells them about her possible career goal of becoming a pilot.

For now, she’s excited about her upcoming adventure at university. “I'm looking forward to that first step into adulthood, where we'll have to be managing everything ourselves, and nothing will be taken care of for us,” says Ma.

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