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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.

It's easy to maximize your success, both personally and professionally, if you’re willing to take advantage of the resources offered. For me, that meant using two key features within the AFM program. As a result, I was offered full-time employment even before I graduated. 

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.

Speaking to strangers or talking in front of a large crowd is often an activity that most individuals dread. “Speak with Impact and Impress them” by Marco Yim was an inspirational workshop that taught me how to step out of my comfort zone and take the next steps in building my networking and public speaking skills.

“Fail to Succeed”, was a session led by four senior AFM students who spoke of their academic journey. They talked about meeting their goals and how those goals changed over time due to either a change in their interests or failing to achieve their original goal.

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.