The University of Waterloo community is constantly evolving. Over the years, we've seen new buildings, breakthroughs in technology and a myriad of other achievements.
This past year, our student athletes have faced extraordinary challenges. They missed multiple seasons of competition, reckoned with unusual training circumstances, and felt the distance of their teammates. Yet, many of these athletes were able to dig down and discover their inner resilience. How do they maintain the Warrior spirit during the COVID-19 pandemic? At a recent event, members of the University of Waterloo athletics community came together to explore that question. Not only did they inspire us with their words of wisdom, but they also raised $40,000 to support student athletes!
Every Monday, we hand control of the @uwaterlooalumni Instragram account to an alumnus. From Youtubers to entrepreneurs, they’ve offered an inside look at their typical work days and some great memories of Waterloo. But our favourite part of these takeovers is the unique career advice they share. Here are some of our favourites.
Turning obstacles into opportunities
This year, as many as 8,000 students will receive their degrees at Waterloo's spring and fall convocation ceremonies. One undergraduate from each Faculty and two graduate students will be awarded an Alumni Gold Medal, which symbolizes not only the student’s accomplishments, but also the proud tradition of exploration and leadership to which all of our alumni belong.
The Governor General Gold Medal, one of the highest honours in academia, will be awarded to two exceptional University of Waterloo graduate students. Tejinder Singh, who graduated last fall from the Faculty of Engineering, will receive the award for highest standing in a doctoral program. Sara Leanne Wyngaarden, who is graduating this spring with an MSc in Health and Health Systems, will receive the award for highest standing in a master’s program. Awards like this allow our community to celebrate the impactful research and scholarly excellence of outstanding students.
Waterloo Engineering is offering free tutoring to high school students across Ontario to help them succeed with remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The new program, known as Hive Mind, is aimed at Grade 10, 11 and 12 students who are struggling in advanced functions, calculus, chemistry and physics—all key subjects required to pursue post-secondary engineering programs.
As 457 undergraduate and 86 graduate students from the Faculty of Health prepare to virtually cross the stage this spring to convocate, we celebrate the hard work, perseverance, friendships and community it took to arrive at that moment – especially during a year that threw out the rule book on how courses should be delivered, how research is performed and how we interact socially with our peers.
We asked some of our award-winning graduates what it took for them to find success in a tough environment and what advice they would give to others who are currently studying.
Do you remember the excitement and apprehension of being a new graduate? Lana Dadson (BA '21) is in the thick of that experience.
She discovered a love for non-profit work as a Waterloo co-op student. We caught up with Lana just before she graduated in June 2021 to chat about her first full-time job out of school, why she plans to pursue a career in the non-profit sector, and how she feels as she enters a new stage in life.
University of Waterloo’s alumni Calvin Choi (BA '01), who has distinguished himself in the international financial sector, and Chuck Magro (BAsc '93), a renowned business leader in Canada, will be the recipients of honorary doctorates at this spring’s convocation ceremonies.
The University of Waterloo is amongst the top 150 universities in the world, according to QS World University Rankings, an annual publication of comparative data about university performance.