Meet the GRADflix finalist who loves this ‘sweet’ experience

Each year the University of Waterloo GRADflix competition sees Master’s and PhD students from every discipline participate, creating 60-second videos describing their research and showcasing the amazing ideas and ambitions of our community of graduate researchers. This year, Graduate Studies and Postdoctoral Affairs is following up with our 2023 participants. In a series of video interviews, we asked them about their GRADflix experience, what they learned, and what they hope to share with others.

Our next GRADflix experience belongs to Karen Hock, a PhD candidate in the School of Public Health Sciences. Her research focuses on promoting healthier beverage consumption. Karen hopes her research will help inform policies around the world aimed at improving diet quality and preventing obesity.

Karen has participated in three GRADflix competitions to date, and been a finalist twice, with her most recent video being titled Mission: PhD. In her interview, she shares her motivation for participating year after year, her appreciation for this creative outlet for her research, and her hope for others seeing the work she is doing.

If you are working on research with exciting applications or implications, consider sharing it with us! When reflecting on her experience, Karen said “I’ve been able to improve my science communication skills and share my research in new and exciting ways. I’ve also learned video and editing skills, which I probably would not have learned otherwise.”

There is so much amazing research being done here at Waterloo, and GRADflix is the perfect opportunity to showcase it to the wider community! Check out the GRADflix competition web page for more information about how you can participate and create your own GRADflix experience!