Why did you choose Waterloo?
I grew up in Mexico, and studied math during my undergraduate education at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. During my math studies I really enjoyed Combinatorics and Optimization, so I decided to come to Waterloo for its unique C&O department.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I live in an apartment in Columbia Lake Village (CLV), Waterloo’s graduate housing complex, with my roommate, who’s also a grad student in C&O. Usually I sleep in a bit, make breakfast and pack a lunch, and then take a quick bus to campus.
On campus, I work in my office, go to seminars, and do individual work – often until 8 pm. I also work as a TA, so sometimes I’m grading for a professor, or sometimes I’m running my own tutorials and holding office hours. I like taking breaks and eating lunch with the other C&O students. We’re a pretty tight-knit group.
What do you do for fun?
I like rock-climbing, and I’m part of a C&O intramural team almost every term. In the past we’ve done basketball, soccer, and most recently inner tube water polo!
I also like to bake, so I’ve been making different cupcakes and sharing them with my classmates who also live in CLV.
Do you have any advice for incoming graduate students?
Do something with your classmates that isn’t academic. I like playing sports together, because we get to laugh at each other and with each other. Research can be very individual, so when we play together it’s easier to get to know each other.