Why did you choose Waterloo?
I grew up in London, Ontario, and did my BS in mathematics and computer science at Western University. I knew I wanted to study cryptography, and the group here at Waterloo is much larger than at most other schools. I originally came here for my MMath degree, and choosing to stay here for my PhD was an extremely easy choice. I didn’t even consider going anywhere else. Waterloo turned out to be an excellent fit for me, the faculty and staff are extremely kind and helpful, and the grad students are very social, collaborative, kind, and welcoming.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Most days I wake up and head to campus pretty soon afterwards. Throughout the day, I do some mix of attending classes and seminars, grading and holding office hours for my TA work, and doing research, either by myself, with collaborators, or with my supervisor, Dr. Douglas Stebila.
I eat lunch in the lounge or outside if the weather is good, with a big group of C&O grad students, and if it happens to be Tuesday, I go back to the lounge for cookie time in the afternoon. In the evening, I either go for a run, or I head to the climbing gym for a few hours (or more than a few…)
I also like buying my produce at the farmer’s markets – Kitchener Market and St. Jacob’s Market. They sell fresh, local produce for much cheaper than the grocery stores. And I go for walks: Waterloo Park is right next to campus, and is really nice place to wander. There are a lot of fun trees to climb in the summer, and in winter, they have beautiful displays of Christmas lights.
What do you do for fun?
I’m generally a very energetic person, and most of my free time is spent bouncing around doing various athletic activities. I spend an absurd amount of time at the climbing gym, Grand River Rocks, which has two locations in the area. I like to boulder, lead climb, and do silly challenges with my friends.
On my off days from climbing, I spend a slightly less absurd amount of time running, often in slightly more absurd weather conditions. My favorite running locations are the Iron Horse Trail and the paths around Columbia Lake. Last year I ran my first marathon, which was sort of a sporadic, born-from-Covid-lockdown boredom goal of mine. In a few years, I plan on training for another marathon and maybe even trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon.
Finally, I’m trying to learn Spanish. It started as a joke – a few of my Latin American friends here started to occasionally talk to me only in Spanish as an “incentive” to learn. It ended up being kind of fun, and now, a year later, I am continuing to learn, using a combination of Duolingo, textbooks, kid’s books, Google Translate, and help from my friends. Some days I only have time for one lesson on Duolingo, but other days I’ll spend a few hours reading in the park with my friend.
Do you have any advice for incoming graduate students?
Sit with people in your classes and work together on homework! Most classes encourage collaboration, and some even structure the homework assignments under the assumption that you will be working together. Not only does this make courses more enjoyable and less stressful, but I have found that I also learn material better when I can bounce ideas off of others and see problems from different perspectives. Our department has a very non-competitive atmosphere when it comes to course work, and most students have a “we’re in this together” mindset, which encourages working together even more.