What a whirlwind semester it has been. My introduction to university began four months ago when I arrived on campus like any other first-year student. Since then I’ve been settling in and getting comfortable. I’ve learned a lot. University is a changing experience, a place where I can find out who I am. It is a place for personal growth and, after just one semester, I have much more to do. Most of all it is a place where I can explore. Western University truly does have something for everyone and the Faculty of Engineering offers a great set of extracurriculars too.

This fall I played 7-on-7 intramural soccer and joined Western’s Climbing Club, a sport new to me. My Thursday nights have become dedicated to Western Engineering’s Aero Design Club. There I get to work with a great group of people designing and building incredible RC planes from scratch. As someone who until recently knew little about the science of flight, this has been a very rewarding experience. I highly recommend joining an engineering club team to any student as it is a great peek into the real world of engineering and project management. Of course, in between these activities I’ve also been going to class. My courses this semester included physics, chemistry, linear algebra, calculus, statics, philosophy and engineering design.  I’ve really enjoyed being able to study what I love: math and science. Linear algebra especially has been an intriguing subject for me and I hope to continue building on my mathematical background in the future. My philosophy course has also been enjoyable. It has a focus on critical thinking and reasoning which I think is especially important at this time in my life.

The coming year is sure to bring many more challenges and opportunities. I am looking forward to competing in the Western Engineering Contest this January as well as keeping up with the increasingly busy Aero Design schedule. I also have the opportunity to decide on my discipline.

Going into this semester, I think a part of me worried that my life’s path had been decided and all I could do was go along for the ride. The biggest thing I learned this semester is that the opportunities are still there and always will be. The hardest part is just learning how to seize them. I’ve realized this is not the end of a journey but the beginning. Not a landing, but a takeoff.