1. How do you define personal/academic/
professional success?
One of the great things about coming to McGill for your undergraduate studies is the chance to create your own experience. Being in such a diverse environment, with countless opportunities, makes it easy to try new things, decide on your priorities, and thus come up with your own definition of success. For me and many of my peers, success was being multi-faceted, keeping a good balance between work, school, being involved and being social. However, with 30,000 undergraduate students, there’s no one way to do McGill. Whatever you want to get out of the university, you have four wonderful years to explore new options, or strengthen the path you are on, through classes, extra-curricular activities, personal growth, etc. The SKILLS21 program formalizes and facilitates this process of combining your learning experiences inside and outside the lecture hall to form a cohesive, rewarding learning stream.
2. What type of skills would you like to develop before graduating to maximize your personal/academic/professional success?
McGill will give any incoming student a solid academic formation, but to stand out in today’s job market, graduates need to solidify their skills outside the classroom. Active listening skills, leadership training and other formative classes and activities help shape students into resourceful, adaptable young professionals. The transferable skills acquired in the SKILLS21 program will help smooth the transition into adulthood. However, this is not only true of your professional life. Learning essential skills in financial literacy, stress management and self-care are incredibly useful tool to acquire in university to build the foundation for a healthy, successful life.
3. Which stream are you most excited about and why?
I am most excited about the Citizenship stream, because of its multi-facetedness. It encourages the development of a sense of global connection, leadership skills, and citizen awareness. In an inter-connected world, possibly the most important thing to do is to understand how we relate to each other, and develop the skills to strengthen these relationships. However, I think the Wellbeing stream is equally valuable. It can be hard to find time within our busy student schedules to check in with and take care of ourselves. Ritualizing this self-care will help students get into a habit of wellness which hopefully will last their whole lives, and encourage them build a healthy foundation for adulthood.
