Why did you choose Waterloo?
I did my undergrad in math at the University of Toronto, then my master’s at McGill. I loved McGill, and I was very intent at staying at McGill for my PhD, but my advisor insisted I apply to at least one another school. When I met Dr. Spiro Karigiannis here at Waterloo, it was like intellectual love at first sight. We vibed so well. I decided to come to Waterloo just to work with him as my advisor, and it’s only exceeded my expectations. I’ve gotten to go to conferences in Banff and Edinburgh, network with other researchers – it’s been amazing.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Usually I wake up, cuddle with my cat Mittens, then go for a walk or do a meditation, which is really good for your memory. I’m finished classes, but sometimes I’ll audit classes on campus anyway, or I’ll go to a seminar or a meeting with my advisor. I also like to get work done on campus – my office is in a prime location, so everyone is always passing by and having a discussion outside my office! I like going out with the other students to get drinks at the Grad House, or at one of my favorite restaurants in Kitchener-Waterloo, like this vegetarian place called Jane Bond, or an El Salvadoran place, La Guanaquita.
Most evenings, though, I’ll head home, pick up a little treat, and read my book or go for a walk in Victoria Park. Then I’ll make dinner. I like to go to Kitchener Market and get the ugly or discounted vegetables and see what I can do with them. I often eat dinner while watching the news, or a true crime documentary, with my cat.
What do you do for fun?
I really love to learn languages: I speak Romanian (my native language), English, French, and a little Spanish, and I would love to learn German. I also really like to travel – I want to visit every country in the world. My dream job is to be a traveling mathematician!
Do you have any advice for incoming graduate students?
Graduate math research is so different from high school and early university classes, in a good way. I was horrible at math in high school! But I had some good teachers in university that helped me get to where I am.
Now, doing pure math feels like doing art. It’s like when you play a musical instrument and you play pieces that people played a hundred years ago. When I do math, I feel close to people from hundreds of years ago too.