They say the journey of personal growth is a long road. Over the past 8 months, I feel as though I’ve gained many skills that are applicable in the real world, ranging from meeting strict deadlines to striving for excellence in high pressure environments.

One of these environments I found quite exhilarating was the hands-on portion of the science courses. Each lab presented a new learning experience which in turn brought a new challenge. Although stressful, I found every lab extremely interesting. They taught us how to manage time wisely while following instructions that were often times left open ended for personal interpretation. It represented a variation of learning that I had been yearning for in high school and many years before.

A couple months ago in school, I stumbled upon a cooperative education opportunity at BlackBerry which I promptly applied for. I was fascinated by the prospect of working for a troubled Canadian company at the forefront of technological innovation. Unfortunately, I was not accepted into the program. Regardless, I think it is important to note that you should pursue things that interest you and allow you to develop on a
personal level. You might be thinking – how would being a project manager at a technology company help me as a science student in any way? Honestly, I probably couldn’t tell you as specifically as I would like. What I can say though is that you grow and learn from your experiences, just as I have by volunteering and teaching martial arts. Over time, these experiences shape who you are as a person. As Seymour Schulich says, “You are rich in your age!” meaning that we are all wealthy in our life experiences.

“Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you’re kind, amazing things will happen.” -Conan O’Brien.

On a side note, I had the opportunity to visit South Korea this spring. It was an amazing trip to say the least. I found it humbling to see such rich cultural diversity in a place so far from home. I feel that everyone should experience life outside of home. We owe ourselves the refresh in perspective every once in a while to remind ourselves that there is more to this world than the places that we live.