Student Profile Sarah

Where coding meets communications

Understanding the Language of Code 

As a Computer Science specialist, Sarah enjoys the outside-of-the-box teaching style of her classes. For example, in the joint classes “CSC258 - Computer Organization” and “CSC209 - System Programming,” students first learn about the physical hardware of computers, before diving into the programming language. In the former, students work in lab settings with breadboards, breaking down the anatomy of a computer and learning the electrical side of how computers store information. In the latter, students build upon this foundation, through lectures on C programming language and operating systems. 

Communications Outside the Classroom

Outside of her STEM studies, Sarah has been able to strengthen her communication and "soft skills" as well through her extracurriculars. For example, shortly before entering her second year, she worked as an Arrive Ready intern at Sidney Smith Commons, serving as a peer mentor to incoming students interested in Computer Science. This also allowed her to meet students from other disciplines, as Arrive Ready teams consisted of current students from each admissions stream. Additionally, she volunteers at Caffiends, a student-run cafe at Victoria College, which she says has greatly improved her customer service skills. Finally, working as a campus tour guide has improved her public speaking and helped her find community in her fellow tour guides.

Finding Community 

Despite her busy schedule, Sarah finds time to invest in her social and personal life. She’s met close friends through Victoria College, tour guiding and shared interests like reading. She also emphasizes the importance of having friends in various spaces, for example friends in classes, clubs, to workout with, and more. 

sarah
Faculty: Faculty of Arts & Science
Program: Computer Science (Human-Computer Interaction Specialist), Cognitive Science (Major)

Embrace the change in this chapter of life - you develop a stronger sense of self that challenges how you see the world, your past, and how you want to build to your future.

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