School & Program
University of Waterloo, Mathematics    

Meadowridge Student Since
Grade 8

Tell us about your time at Meadowridge and the connections you’ve made.

The teachers and my friends made it a memorable experience. I feel like all the teachers are the best I’ve ever met. They always pushed us and guided us to pursue more. I was influenced to seek out more opportunities like research and the teachers made me excited to learn. They always had resources and information on how to improve my research or projects. They also gave us life advice and supported us emotionally when I was down or in situations where I was mentally unprepared. I don’t really consider them teachers, but my mentors.

My friends are an inclusive and accepting group. They’ve shown me that everyone can have different interests and hobbies, but we can still come together and support each other as a team, study, and hang out. Of course, during our time here we struggled with IB and DP, but going through the same challenges and helping each other made our friendships stronger.

What do you want to be remembered for as a Meadowridge student?

As a problem solver. When I started DP, I decided I wouldn’t give it every ounce of my energy and time because I want to be happy too. Instead, I shifted my focus and took on a diversity of activities to balance out my experiences here. I hope that when people think of me, they can think about shifting their academic expectations for themselves. We have all struggled or will go through the DP and its difficulties, but we need to make sure to take care of ourselves too.

I hope people will also remember me for being funny and someone who can always joke around, yet I can always adjust the energy of a group to adapt to other people’s feelings or emotions, if a joke or comment is made that unintentionally hurts someone; in this way, I’m also caring and I like to put myself in other people’s shoes and see situations in their perspectives. It’s always important to care about others.   

What will you always remember?

I will never forget the teachers and my friends’ support through the DP. I’ve changed a lot since starting at this school. I’ve always been an introvert, but with the guidance of my teachers, my personality changed. I’m more confident and I seek out interactions with my peers. My friends are the best people. I’ll miss a normal school day at Meadowridge, sitting and talking to friends at lunch, talking about random things, and studying together.  

What are you looking forward to in the years ahead? 

There are so many opportunities ahead. I’ll have to get used to a new city, new friends, and the environment. I’ll probably spend time finding out what interests me in school to narrow my focus. I’m looking forward to talking to and learning from new people and my professors. I want to set new goals for every stage in my life. The next few years are about enjoying life and finding my direction in life. 

How did you decide to study Mathematics at the University of Waterloo? Any goals?   

Ever since Grade 1, I’ve loved math. I find math the most enjoyable of all the subjects and it’s practical; I use it in real life, like when I’m shopping. My math teachers have always been amazing and supportive, even when I didn’t do so well. My experiences with math made me want to dive into it more. Right now, I know too little about what I want to do with math, so I chose Waterloo because they have 14 different branches of math I can explore and then decide in a few years what suits my interests. My main goal is just trying to find my direction and path in life.   

Any parting words of wisdom for our Meadowridge Community? 

“The time you enjoy wasting, isn’t always wasted time.” Sometimes procrastination comes with some benefits if you’re enjoying what you’re doing, just don’t over-procrastinate. Whatever you’re doing and enjoying is what your body needs at that moment. Giving yourself time to enjoy things is important in IB to avoid burnout. Sometimes we’re hard on ourselves for wasting time we could use for studying, but when we reflect on all the good times we’ve had, the moments we remember aren’t about when we were studying, it’s the moments when we were doing something we love with the people we’re close to, so we can never really waste of time if we’re enjoying it.