a small fish in a big pond.
Hello!
It’s finally winter break, and I couldn’t be happier to drag suitcases home in Timberlands, trudging through the snow and awaiting festive Christmas lights.
I spent my first week in bed. Literally. After getting over a cold that plagued my finals week and missing my nice comfortable childhood room, I couldn’t help but just lie in bed all day, every day. However, I quickly started to miss the hectic university lifestyle and the rewarding feeling of reaching the next academic goal.
I had just finished my first term at the University of Waterloo for Systems Design Engineering, and was blessed to be able to experience some incredible campus activities- although opting for online classes after hitting snooze on those 7:00 am alarms. Riding the excitement of acceptance and anticipation of a new chapter of school, I had some goals:
- Work to your potential. I didn’t want to leave this academic term with any regrets, and I wanted to truly enjoy my classes. Quantitatively, I wanted to maintain a term avg >85%.
- Prioritize your physical and mental health. Go to the gym occasionally, know how to destress, keep a constant tab on your social battery.
- Reach out to people and try to step out of your comfort zone in social situations!
i. School
I immediately entered my schedule into Google Calendar once I received it in the summer, looking over all my courses and profs and organizing folders in Goodnotes for each class. I couldn’t wait to get started… until the first day of classes actually came. After spending the first week moving in, jumping out of bed to socialize and explore campus, class didn’t seem all that appealing anymore. All of my classes were in E5/E7, subjectively the nicest buildings on campus and a mere 5-minute walk from my residence. The 6th floor was home to SYDE/BME students, a common study area and a beautiful grand piano.
I diligently worked hard for the first two weeks, getting assignments done as soon as they were released and spending the whole day in study rooms. My friends dragged me out of bed at 7 am to go for a run or play ping pong before class, I went to class from 8:30–5pm, did homework till midnight, then spent a few more hours hanging out. Despite the schedule, I was happy, motivated and pleased with my performance. However, I was quickly reminded of my mortality when I burnt out and my social battery depleted. For the rest of the term, I learned to pace myself and recognize the signs of burnout, ideally before I felt it.
One of my regrets this term was simply not going to class more. It was a great opportunity to meet other students, talk to the professors, and most importantly, put rigid time slots on each course.
Looking forward to: In-person design classes! (SYDE 161+)
Proud of: 96% avg, coming soon :)
ii. Internship(s)
I never imagined balancing a part-time with my first term of uni. I moved in, met my profs, then immediately headed into a hectic few weeks of co-op search.
Midterms came and went, and I lived the next week in sweatpants, slides, a blazer and a fake smile. Interviews punctured my class schedule, so I decided to skip a week of classes and self-study around my interview slots. This was effective for calculus, but to this day I couldn’t tell you what happened in physics (SYDE 181). Eventually, it paid off with an offer to my top choice, an NYC-based design company for UX Design.
Around this time I was also accepted to Jemi’s fellowship program, where I scaled a YC20 startup through product management, user research, and marketing. This was an incredible experience, but I really resonated with the Jemi team and the drive behind their product. Fast forward a couple of weeks later, and I got an offer letter to join their team as a part-time Growth/Marketing intern!
Transparently, this was tough. Once the initial excitement wore out, all I could was wish I had more than 24 hours in a day. Over the next month, I learned to balance my life:
Study efficiently. I never touched a lecture recording, looked straight to the textbook and problem sets and worked ahead. Then I skipped lectures that covered content I was confident in.
Don’t play tetris with my schedule. Packing everything as tight as possible left me with little flexibility for schedule changes, and social events. I had to ensure padding around each time block so it had room to move.
Draw a hard line between work and leisure. First was not working on my bed or during meal times, so I could take a mental break and remember to prioritize my health.
Marketing is not my focus, and it felt a little awkward as an engineering student among business-minded colleagues. However, working outside of my comfort zone was exactly what I wanted as a freshman. Stepping into the new year with Jemi, I’m excited to be working on Product Operations, refocusing on the technical side that I thrive in.
iii. Social Life? Sleep?
Unfortunately, the sacrifice made this term was sleep. I typically slept from 3–4:30am, after my work was done for that day and a schedule was drawn up for the next. The fate of my morning classes was doomed from the start. Sorry Professor Speziale.
After ~5 hours, I would get up and use the morning to slowly get into a productive mindset, but also destress before the pace picked up. After lunch, I normally needed a power nap (10–15 minutes) to keep my social battery high and focus in check.
Regardless, I met some amazing people and created some unforgettable memories. Notably, I had the best birthday ever this year :).
Till next term!
