Stream of study: Regular
Career goal: I hope to one day be flying with a commercial airline either as a First Officer or a Captain (preferably with WestJet!!).
Why did you choose to study in the Faculty of Environment at Waterloo?
When I was in the process of applying for programs at the University of Waterloo, I applied to both the Geography and Aviation program as well as the Science and Aviation program. It took me a while to decide between the two, but the reason that I chose the Faculty of Environment at Waterloo was because I realized that I wanted to be a part of a smaller faculty, where the learning could be more personal, and where I would be able to get to know my peers and my professors. I also felt like I would do better in geography because my passion lies in learning more about our environment, and methods in which we can improve as a community to live more sustainably. Waterloo is also one of the only universities to have a Faculty of environment, and this shows that Waterloo as a university is truly dedicated to making changes, and raising awareness for issues related to the Environment. Lastly, Geography and Aviation as an undergraduate program itself is one of kind, and there is no other program like it anywhere else in Ontario, let alone Canada.
What do you love most about your program?
I love that Aviation always consists of a small group of students. In this way we are all able to get to know each other through the years, and are able to form a connection as a group. My peers are one of my biggest support systems as we are all constantly learning from each others experiences. I also love that our program is unique in the way in which it allows students to complete all the training and written exams required to be able to graduate with a frozen Airline Transport Pilot License (ATPL). Not a lot of other program's in Ontario provide that sort of training, so I consider myself to be super fortunate to be able to finish up all the important exams before graduation, and in that way I know I'll be able to focus on finding a good job right out of school.
What problem would you like to solve?
Sustainability in Aviation has recently been a hot topic, and that is something I still need to learn a lot about. Although I know that I alone will not be able to solve the problem of un-sustainability, I am interested in learning more about that factors that make it unsustainable, and the changes that can be made within companies to implement more sustainable travel.