Graduate student profiles

"I love the freedom and power I have in managing my own time. As someone who is dedicated to making schedules far in advance and creating detailed action plans, the flexibility I have as a grad student is wonderful."

Cindy Wei, MSc student, Kinesiology

"The Writing and Communication Centre has been an amazing resource to me as a graduate student. Through their one-on-one meetings, I have become a better writer. I have also enjoyed participating in their workshops. During Reading Week, I had the opportunity to participate in their Dissertation Workshop. This workshop provided us with skills to overcome procrastination and plateauing in our writing and ways to connect to other graduate students who were going through the same thing."

Carrie Shorey, PhD student, Public Health and Health Systems (Aging, Health and Well-Being)

"Do your graduate degree if you are passionate for what you are doing; succeeding in something that you care about is much easier. And be patient, mistakes are inevitable in research. You will experience failures, no matter how clever you are."

Aaron Yip, PhD student, Chemical Engineering

"Challenges are a part of life. Doing a Master's is no different. It's an obstacle that you have to overcome if you want to elevate your ability to read, write, and build your critical thinking. Go into your Master's with an open mind on learning, only then will you see it as an opportunity and not just a challenge."

Prince Khan, MEDI student, Economic Development and Innovation

"Look around and see what's available to you, then try something! I felt really overwhelmed when I first started grad school. It seemed like there was always something I didn't know. So, I started to look for things I wanted and then I talked to people about it. Opportunities came up and I applied. Even when things looked like a long shot. I think that curiosity and willingness really pay off."

Janet Jones, PhD student, Applied Philosophy

"The first few months of graduate school feel overwhelming, but it is definitely worth the hard work."

Vega Kapoor, MMath student, Actuarial Science

“I think with the huge amount of personal and professional investments a grad student makes in their education, stress management can be a significant challenge. To alleviate it, I personally choose to be consistent and not to expect instantaneous “rewards”. PhD research takes time, and I do not believe there is such a thing as failure. Just being consistent and having short-term/long-term plans helps to manage the level of stress.”

Fatemeh Ahmadloo, PhD student, Electrical and Computer Engineering

“My best advice is to get involved as much as possible. When you see opportunities, whether it’s to present somewhere, join a club or lend your expertise somewhere, I recommend taking every chance that comes your way. This campus is very large and full of incredible opportunities that are waiting for you to seize them. Ask questions when you're curious and work on finding solutions and answers. Apply even when you think you don't have a shot. You don't know where your next great adventure will start.”

Aiman Fatima, MSc student, Kinesiology

"I had a fantastic (although, very difficult) undergraduate experience and the co-op program helped me recognize that I had a natural knack for research. Once I knew I wanted to pursue research, making the choice to stay at Waterloo was a relatively easy one."

M. Shehryar Khan, PhD student, Mechanical and Mechatronics Engineering