This semester has been a pretty crazy one!  Since being accepted into the Engineering and Applied Science faculty, and my chosen discipline (process), I’ve had a lot of changes compared with my first year.  All of the courses I took this semester were about engineering, which was really interesting.  The rest of my class and I learned about how steam-powered turbines work, how to create process flow diagrams for designing chemical processes, and all sorts of other neat things.  One especially cool thing we did this semester was to visit a local brewery to see the brewing process in action.  The rest of my classmates are really great; we have some classes with other disciplines, but us process kids are together for it all.  We’ve grown very close over the course of only one semester and I can definitely say that we’re all good friends now.

                It’s not just school that has changed up this semester; I also decided to join the varsity Seahawks Cross Country Running team!  Although I couldn’t make all the practices because of my slightly insane class schedule, I found this an awesome experience!  Meeting the other runners was super, and it was nice to have a group to do workouts with, rather than having to just always run by myself.  I love running just to get away from the stress of school sometimes, and this created a lot of opportunity to do that!  This was an especially exciting year to be a Seahawk runner because we hosted CIS, the national Cross Country race for university teams.  Although I didn’t actually race, I was still there to volunteer, and it was amazing to see the speed and endurance of the runners.  I would encourage anyone who enjoys sports to try out for one of their school’s varsity teams – even if you don’t make the travel team, it’s a great experience, and you’ll have a lot of fun!

                Another reason this semester has been so different is that I’ve taken on a leadership role in our EWB chapter; I am now one of the Global Engineering leads(!!!).  My role this semester has revolved around working to implement the Global Engineering Certificate into MUN’s Engineering Program.  You may be wondering what the Global Engineering Certificate program is, and why you haven’t heard of it, and that would be because it is brand new!  And when I say brand new, I mean still-wrapped-with-the-tags-on brand new.  This initiative start at the University of Calgary, and has been in the grass root stages for a few years now.  MUN decided to take what U of C had, and then take it a step forward.  We were able to fit several courses to meet the criteria outlined by the certificate guidelines, and are now the first university in Canada to have this program on its feet!  Admittedly, we still have quite a way to go before it is fully functional (we’re still waiting on some of our disciplines to get approved courses, and are waiting for the online portal to be set up to log volunteer hours and transcripts) however we are very excited with the progress we have made so far, and I’ve learned a whole lot!

                Next semester I’ll be on my first engineering work term, so that will be a huge change for me once again.  I’m really looking forward to it though; from what I’ve heard from older classes, the experience is invaluable.  Hopefully I won’t be in too far over my head! 

Until next time folks,

Grace