Patrick Hayes is a Mathematics student in Computer Science and Pure Mathematics. Patrick is originally from Guelph, but has found himself on co-op terms in Waterloo, California, and New York working for both large and small start-up technology companies. Patrick loves that he is always surrounded by smart people at Waterloo and loves the people and colleagues that he gets to interact with. He says “I always knew math is what I wanted to do, and I knew that Waterloo is the place for math”.
Throughout his time at Waterloo, Patrick has already gained some extremely valuable work experience through his co-op terms. Patrick has worked at Research in Motion, Facebook (he says that Mark Zuckerberg was pretty nice), a start-up tech company called ContextLogic, and Bloomberg in New York. Patrick says “I got to have a broad range of jobs; I got to see what is out there and decide what it is that I want to do… it’s important to get out and try new things”. After his many terms of work experience, Patrick wants to work for a small start-up company in the technology industry after he graduates.
Patrick was also on the Orientation Committee to help first-year students experience a smooth transition into university. He says, “1,300 math students came and it went really well”. Patrick also reminisces to his favourite memory at Waterloo – his first year living in residence at St. Jerome’s University. He remembers “making all these friends that had the same classes as me, working on assignments together, and making those friendships that have lasted for all these years.”
Intramurals are also a great way to meet new people on campus. Patrick also participates in many intramural sports such as ultimate Frisbee, dodge ball, and volleyball. Coincidentally, one of Patrick’s favourite spots on campus is the beach volleyball courts at Fed Hall. He is an extremely well-rounded student and says that first-years should try to “take the opportunity to try to new things, whether it’s in co-op or taking an interesting class, or meeting new people”.