Blog

A solitary figure stands in the middle of the stage as a bright beam of light surrounds her. Suddenly, she takes a deep breath and realizes – it’s show time. Dramatic, I know, but that’s life in the theatre.

I’ve worked for Deloitte in their tax and corporate development divisions to build my business acumen. Networking with upper-year students and alumni exposed me to diverse career paths. But my most impactful experience to date has been participating in “Success Beyond the Classroom”.

Transitioning into first year of AFM studies is similar in many ways:
1) you feel a bit lost,
2) you’re unsure of what the expectations for you are, and
3) you have to level-up your skills in a hurry.

The DECA Leadership GRIT Conference (DECA GRIT) was more than I expected, not just discussing DECA but also the rest of the business world. It was filled with interesting and informative lectures and workshops, along with hundreds of students networking and talking about their one common interest of DECA. DECA GRIT was held to help further enhance your skills to prepare you for future leadership roles in DECA and beyond, discussing leadership within all aspects of business.

Too many to choose

When I think of university, I think of all work and no play. That is not the case at the University of Waterloo. At UW, there is a multitude of  extra-curriculars for anyone to take part in.

Never alone

One worry I had when I started to think about residence was whether I would actually like the person/people, I live with. As a very shy person, I am hesitant to live with people I do not know as most residences have shared rooms and there are very few single rooms. After looking into it a little more, I found out that when I am ready to apply for residence, I would have to fill out a form that asks for my likes and dislikes, what kind of person I am, and what it would be like to live with me.

Your home away from home

Movies portrayed living in university residence as one shared room with your best friend, one shared bathroom, and microwaved ramen noodles. After some research, I found out that there is a variety of  residences available to students. Some options are very similar to the movies, which have single and double rooms available, complete with communal floor bathrooms and a residence cafeteria. Those are traditional dorms, where I would also have to get a meal plan.

Where will I live?

A misconception with university is that you have to live in residence in order to attend university. That is simply not true. Residence is not the only option for accommodations while in university and it is up to you to decide where you live. For a lot of students, living at home is a great option. For me, living at home is great because I live close to the university, and I would save a lot of money since I would not have to pay for living expenses.