What is your favorite summer activity? Or your favourite Halifax activity?
This is my first full summer in Halifax and a good wander around the city lets you find so many fun little festivals and events. I’ve enjoyed spending time with friends exploring Halifax and the HRM. One of my quirks is that I love being near water and Halifax easily delivers when I feel the need to sit, sketch or read by the water.
Are you working/volunteering anywhere this summer? Tell us a bit about your role and what you like most about your position!
I’ve landed into a mixed bag of things to keep me busy for the summer. I have been doing a reading course for my thesis, working as a research assistant for some SIM faculty and working for the Political Science department and the Centre for the Study of Security and Development as a student assistant. I’m researching a bunch of interesting topics while being able to connect with new departments and learn about the behind-the-scenes operations of the university.
What are you most looking forward to this coming school year? (E.g. any courses or subjects you’re interested in diving into, etc.)
I’m so excited to finally be officially starting my thesis! I’ve done so much prep work leading up to it for next year (and it’s evolved into almost a whole new thing the last couple of months) that I am ready to get the project started. For the couple of classes I am taking, I’m excited to be taking more technical, specialized courses and diving into privacy and ethics on the side. I’m also preparing to take the CIPP/C certification and potentially the Records and Information Management certification through ARMA to compliment my degree.
Do you have any words of wisdom/encouragement for new students starting in the fall?
Don’t be afraid to try new things and don’t let the idea of failure prevent you from trying them. Now is the time to research a new topic or learn a new skill – especially in an environment that is so supportive of students exploring their own interests. Even topics or skills you might not think you will ever need are valuable, being able to adapt your skillset is so useful for anything you can encounter down the road.
