Do what you love
Not all undergraduate students get the opportunity to co-author on published research papers, but Tina Jiao, recipient of the 2021 Governor General’s Academic Silver Medal for highest academic achievement in an undergraduate program and Kinesiology’s Academic Achievement Award, did.
She said that going into the co-op term, she had had little exposure to the research field. ‘It made the job admittedly daunting and stressful at times. However, with the support of my supervisor, I slowly developed my skills as a researcher and put in the effort to see the projects through to the end.”
Another research opportunity arose in her KIN 391 class. “I did a research apprenticeship in Lora Giangregorio's Bone Health and Exercise Science Lab, where I helped recruit participants for clinical trials, executed literature searches, and extracted data for systematic reviews,” Jiao says.
“The apprenticeship was a valuable experience and one I recommend other students consider, regardless of whether they're pursuing a career in academia.”
These experiences set her on a path to grad studies, which is what she will be doing next year. She was accepted into Yale, Columbia and Dartmouth, but will be starting a Master of Health Informatics at the University of Toronto.
Jiao received other awards during her undergraduate studies besides the two convocation awards for highest academic achievement: The Applied Health Sciences Kinesiology Scholarship in 2019, the Kinesiology Award: A Noble Pursuit in 2020, and the Kinesiology Upper-Year Scholarship in 2021.
“The majority are based on academic achievement, with recipients being automatically selected by staff, rather than through a student-submitted application,” Jiao says. “As a result, I wasn't actually aware of most of these awards before receiving them, so you can imagine how shocked and grateful I was upon selection.”
She is also grateful to her parents for their support and outlook on life. “My parents modelled hard work, selflessness and integrity, and they gave me the privilege of attending the University of Waterloo,” Jiao says. “I would also like to thank all my professors, for a student is only as good as their teachers.”
While Jiao focused on academics, she also played on an intramural volleyball team for a few terms. “It's a sport I've loved since middle school, so it was nice being able to continue it into university,” she says. “It was also a great way to meet new people and bond over a shared interest.”
Her advice to current students is to follow a path that genuinely interests and excites them. “I love the quote, ‘If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life,’ and I think it holds especially true for students.
“It can be overwhelming when choosing courses since there are many factors to consider, but I found that by choosing the courses that aligned with my interests – regardless of whether or not they were notoriously difficult – I felt engaged during lectures, I was motivated to learn the material, and ultimately, I was able to perform very well.”
Jiao is one of 457 undergraduate and 86 graduate students in the Faculty of Health convocating this spring.