My experience as a Schulich Leader at the University of Waterloo has been absolutely amazing. The highlight of my first semester was definitely being enrolled in the advanced stream of math classes. This meant being in an environment with around 60 other students who share the same passion for mathematics that I have. In particular, my Algebra class was the biggest challenge. Some of the things that I learned about were the Euclidean Algorithm, modular arithmetic, and various number systems such as the Gaussian Integers, quadratic number fields, and commutative rings. It really opened the doors to a whole new style of math that I didn’t even know existed four months ago. It was a lot of work (I stayed up to 5:00 am one day during the first week of school in order to get a math assignment done!), but it was definitely worth it.

As much as I love math, I still have a great passion for many other areas of STEM. As my non-math electives, I took physics and chemistry. These applied classes created a great balance with my more theoretical math classes. The variation between all of my classes kept each day exciting and fun!

When I was not in class, I enjoyed playing intramural volleyball, basketball, and beach volleyball. It was a great way to meet new friends and stay active. I also went to the gym on a daily basis as part of a rigorous training program to improve my fitness. This past summer, my brother and I won the 18U National Championship for beach volleyball doubles. We’re looking forward to returning to the beach this upcoming summer.

Now that I have term one under my belt, I feel so much more comfortable and relaxed heading into term two. I am really looking forward to getting more involved in the community, and have already started volunteer tutoring with the Somali Canadian Association of Waterloo. Can’t wait to tell you all about it in four months!

Happy new year and thank you so much to the Schulich Foundation for all of the incredible support.