Current students

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Professor Mark Servos has been working tirelessly to contribute towards our understanding of COVID-19, leading wastewater testing efforts locally and across Canada. His research has recently been highlighted in the media as wastewater surveillance becomes a significant tool in our community’s efforts to track the spread of COVID-19, and his efforts are being recognized with a Minister of Colleges and Universities' Awards of Excellence.

Richard Xie, an enterprising undergraduate student at the Cheriton School of Computer Science, is changing the way we interact with today’s housing market. A fifth-year student, Xie has brought artificial intelligence to real estate through his company Manorlead and is actively working on a metaverse for preconstruction real estate. 

While Manorlead was developed during his university years, the concept began in elementary school.

From about the age of 10, Andrew D’Souza (BASc ’08) began to think of inventive ways to earn money. An early entrepreneur, whose family immigrated to Canada from India, D’Souza started providing his neighbours with services such as paper-delivery, lawn mowing and dog walking. Later, he took on part-time jobs to save for university because he wanted to avoid debt.

“I love the balance of having a semester where I can study a variety of subjects that will go towards my majors and minors.”

Prianka Hoque is a fourth-year student in Honours Arts and Business Co-op with a major in Communications Studies, as well as minors in Legal Studies and Political Science. Although it appears that Hoque has always had her undergraduate experience figured out, it was not always clear to her.

When University of Waterloo co-op student Anthony Ilersich faced the challenge of easing vaccine-related anxiety in children, he used his love for gaming to make a difference.

While she excelled in econometrics during her undergraduate studies at Waterloo, Susan Shu Chang soon established her expertise in applied machine learning and game development – the two main strands of her astonishing range of expertise in the tech space. Today, just four years since she graduated with her BA Hons, she is a Principal Data Scientist at Clearco, a finance-tech company that provides growth capital for online businesses.

Kathy Hay earned her BA with a major in Psychology in 1998 — but it wasn’t a straight line from start to finish. Beginning her undergrad studies in 1979, she paused university to pursue a career in banking. Nearly 20 years later she completed her degree through Waterloo’s distance learning option. Now as a former banker, Kathy has brought a strategic and business lens to her roles in the not-for-profit charitable sector.

The University of Waterloo is ranked 22nd in the world for universities that produce the most successful entrepreneurs, according to the 2021 PitchBook rankings of top 50 colleges for founders. 

Coming to the end of another challenging year marked by the pandemic, I am inspired by the resiliency of our University community. I also understand the toll that COVID-19 has had, especially on our students. This Giving Tuesday, I am personally supporting the Waterloo Fund because it offers the University the ability to quickly respond to the most pressing priorities, including supports for students.