As the fall semester begins, the Faculty of Mathematics welcomes six first-year students who have already distinguished themselves academically as recipients of the coveted Schulich Leader Scholarship.
Schulich Leader Scholarships are among Canada’s most prestigious undergraduate STEM scholarships. The program, now in its tenth year, recognizes up to one hundred entrepreneurial-minded high school graduates enrolling in science, technology, engineering or math programs at 20 partner universities across Canada. Every high school in Canada can nominate one graduating student each year to apply for the scholarship.
Since 2012, the University of Waterloo has been a top recipient of the Schulich Leader Scholarships. This year, the university welcomes ten new Schulich winners.
Our new Schulich Leader Scholarship recipients in the Faculty of Mathematics are Saptarshi Bhattacherya, Alicia Bremer, Andrew Dong, Heidi Hon, Kushal Mujral, and Eric Pei.
Faculty of Mathematics Schulich Scholarship winners for the new academic year. Top l-r: Saptarshi Bhattacherya, Alicia Bremer and Andrew Dong. Bottom l-r: Heidi Hon, Kushal Mujral and Eric Pei.
Saptarshi Bhattacherya is joining the software engineering program. He has already developed a mobile app, Chemfriend, that automatically balances chemistry equations and helps students check their chemistry homework. Bhattacherya said that one of his goals is to "better the lives of others with good user experiences. In the future, I hope to cultivate more positive user experiences through the software I build.”
Alicia Bremer is joining the Cheriton School of Computer Science. She has a long-time interest in app development, mathematics and problem-solving. She is especially interested in the way “code can be applied to help address real-world issues.” Bremer said she wants “to do research in areas such as quantum computing or machine learning or to found a startup that can make a real difference in the lives of others.”
Andrew Dong is joining the Cheriton School of Computer Science. He is a student who has a long-time passion for computer science, having participated in numerous hackathons as a junior high and high school student and competed at the Canadian Computing Olympiad. He said that one of the things he is most looking forward to as a new student is “Waterloo’s co-op program, to get valuable experience in the industry.”
Heidi Hon is joining the Cheriton School of Computer Science. She has loved programming since middle school when she first learned JavaScript. She is “fascinated by the power of simple logic to solve complex problems.” Hon worked in several student initiatives, including her school’s STEM Committee and helping to organize events, including the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
Kushal Mujral is joining the software engineering program. Throughout high school, Mujral was extensively involved on the robotics team and spent countless hours outside of school working on robots. He says that after learning of his Schulich Scholarship win, he "couldn’t stop smiling and rereading the offer letter for the next few days.” He is most interested in joining the design teams and robotics clubs, as well as experiencing co-op and gaining a better understanding of the intricacies of software engineering through his studies.
Eric Pei is joining the Cheriton School of Computer Science. He already has an impressive portfolio of work in programming, robotics and mathematics. He also competed in the Canadian Computing Olympiad. He said he is especially looking forward to “learning in different mathematics and computer science courses” and to the prospect of “possibly moving abroad for co-op.”
A warm Faculty of Mathematics welcome to these six exceptional students!