How the Fellowship Program has broadened my perspective

Thursday, March 4, 2021
by Mahek G., AFM first-year student

In my first term, it has already given me many opportunities to meet industry professionals and attend a variety of workshops and events.

Mahek
Hello! My name is Mahek and I am currently a first-year AFM student who is a part of the Fellowship Program. When starting university in Fall 2020, I wasn’t entirely sure of what to expect out of the Fellowship, especially with an online term. Now looking back on the term, I can see that it has already had a very positive impact on my university experience so far.

Something that I was really looking forward to during my first term was meeting my Honouree, the alumnus who my Fellowship is named after. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to attend the Fellowship Program Café where I met my Honouree for the first time. The event itself was a great experience.  I was able to ask questions and learn from the experiences of not only my own Honouree, but other Honourees and fellow students. Hearing stories and advice from industry professionals was interesting since it really broadened my perspective, and they offered many different ideas that I wouldn’t have considered as a student.

My relationship with my Honouree has been very helpful. It’s really useful and inspiring to be able to talk to someone who has already been where I am now and has managed to achieve the success that I hope to see myself achieve one day. Especially with everything moving virtual these days, it can be challenging to reach out to people and build relationships, so I was very grateful to be given an industry mentor. Seeing how I was able to build a relationship like this virtually inspired me to try to expand my network and reach out to more people.

My Honouree has already helped me in a number of ways —from providing me with career guidance to general support. I have had a great fall term in the Fellowship Program. It gave me many opportunities to meet industry professionals and attend a variety of workshops and events. I look forward to experiencing more great things and developing new skills in my upper years!