Program: PhD, Medical Genetics
Year in program: 5th year
Hometown: Oshawa, Ontario
What inspired you to pursue your program?
When I was a kid I loved puzzle books, my parents used to get them for me for family road trips and I would spend hours in the car working my way through them with delight. During the second year of my undergrad, I took an introduction to genetics course and was handed a tutorial workbook that to me was a giant book of puzzles, and I was hooked on solving them.
For me, studying biology at a genetic and molecular level presents an opportunity to learn what we are made of and how we function; I find it grounding as it continuously gives me a greater understanding and better acceptance of what it means to be human. Although the further I get into my career, the more I realize how little we actually know, and that it’s a constant work in progress with so much to still discover and apply., Hopefully I can lend myself to working out a few more pieces of the puzzle as genetics becomes a more integral part of the healthcare system and improving the human experience.
What are you looking forward to most this upcoming year?
Graduating! It’s been a long and wonderful road at UBC working on my PhD (and while I have a bit of thesis and paper writing ahead of me in the next few months), after nearly 10 years of post-secondary education I’m looking forward to figuring out how to take what I’ve learned so far and make the best possible impact on the world outside the student bubble.
What’s one thing we might be surprised to learn about you?
I wanted to be an archaeologist growing up. I was always interested in ancient history and philosophy, how we used to live and think about the world, people’s stories, and how society has evolved to where we are today. While still keenly interested in the arts (I even audited a Greek philosophy class once I finished courses for my program), my focus shifted into genetics because I wanted to understand not only where we’ve been, but where we’re going as a species, and I think advances in genetic technology is going to play a large role in that future.
Best piece of advice:
As cliché as it may sound, I found that pushing myself beyond my introverted comfort zone and getting involved in student activities and events really helped to positively shape my experience at UBC. Being a student leader for several events earned me an expanded professional network and invaluable experience managing teams and resources. It gave me a better sense of community and support, and led to getting to know a lot more about my peers, faculty and administration (in and outside of my department) who I wouldn’t have interacted with otherwise.
What superpower do you wish you had?
Even though I’m looking forward to graduating, as I close out this chapter of my life, being able to freeze or slow down time comes to mind. Each question you answer in science leads to 10 new questions and “just one more experiment I swear then I’ll be done”, it’s hard to draw the line and say this is where I stop. In general, I’ve always loved being in university, and jokingly call myself a professional student when people ask about my career. I know change is good and am excited for what’s next, but moving to Vancouver from Ontario and starting school at UBC was a huge turning point in my life. Finishing school this year is going to be a little bittersweet, making me want to hold on to it a little bit longer.
Where in the world would you like to get lost?
Next up on the bucket list is Iceland! Right before the fall semester begins I’ll be road-tripping around the Ring Road in a campervan for some epic waterfalls, glacier hiking, lagoon soaking, and northern lights viewing!.