Student Profile Rina

Finding Her Passion

Coming into university, Rina was unsure what she wanted to study, but knew it would be something in the social sciences. After enrolling in “GGR124: Studies in Urban Life” because it fit with a free time slot in her schedule, she discovered a new passion for Urban Studies that she hadn’t expected. Every week, the class talked about a different aspect of how humans operated in urban planning and Rina enjoyed the societal lens through which they explored urban planning. 

Clubs: Where Hobby Meets Community 

As a lover of dance, Rina joined U of T’s Dance Club hoping to pursue her hobby further and ended up finding close friends who shared the same love for the sport that she did. It also gave her good communication and outreach skills when she became the club’s producer in her second year, in charge of external communications between the club and their videographer, theater venues for performances, and more. 

Succeeding in First Year

When she first got to university, Rina made a point to put herself out there, which she says paid off in the long run. She attended as many orientation week events as she could, especially the ones at her college, joined smaller groups on campus like the Ones Program and Recognized Study Groups (RSGs) to help break up the large class sizes of first year classes and booked an appointment with a learning strategies the first week of class. Finding friends off the bat, and preparing herself with successful study strategies eased her transition to university greatly.