I was born and raised in Welland, Ontario and lived a fairly common childhood. French was my first language and I attended french language schools growing up.  Some of you might be wondering if the switch from a French school to an English education was hard. At first it may seem daunting, but you’ll soon realize it’s very easy. 1+1=2 in any language as I later found out!

As a kid I always found the birds soaring above me fascinating and found myself looking twice at the planes flying above. I developed an early interest in aviation which eventually led me to the Air Cadets. It was an interesting journey filled with challenges, lessons and accomplishments. It was here that I also learned that hard work pays off. I progressed through the ranks and eventually got a pilot license and had the great opportunity to do an exchange to France. With a knack for building things and an interest in aviation, Aerospace Engineering seemed to be a fitting choice and led me to Carleton.

I’m currently on a 16-month co-op placement. At the completion of my placement in August I will be returning to school to undertake my third year of studies. I’m also currently helping out with the Hybrid formula SAE race car and plan on building a weather balloon this summer. You’ll be sure to hear more about that. More challenges await me and it will be fun to see what the future holds.

I’ll be writing to you, every two weeks, about my life at Carleton and the adventures I partake in Canada’s beautiful capital. Bzzzz there’s my laundry, I guess it’s time to leave it at that. Oh! Which reminds me, if you’re leaving home for the first time, have your mom give you a laundry 101 crash course… might come in handy!

For all Prestige Scholarships, you need a minimum 90 percent average accompanied by a variety of extra-curricular activities demonstrating leadership and community service. These scholarships require an application and the deadline is March 1, 2012.

If you think you are a good candidate for one of our highest awards, visit the Awards and Financial Aid website to get a copy of the application form.

During the months of February and March 2012, representatives from Carleton University may be visiting your high school so you can ask us your questions and learn more about:

• the offer package;
• campus life and orientation;
• admissions and timelines; and
• portfolio requirements

To find out if Carleton will be visiting your high school, check out our high school locator.

During our March Break Program, you will have the chance to talk with professors, staff and students about the wide range of academic programs, scholarships, co-op and work experience, student services and resources available at Carleton. You will also have the chance to take a campus and/or residence tour.

Visit the March Break website for more information. Please note, detailed agendas and registration will be posted soon, so check back often!

It has definitely been a long time!

We are well into the winter semester now and January is almost over. This semester is a busy one for me as I am taking six courses! It will definitely be a challenge, but I am ready to take it on! I will definitely have to stay on track with my class readings to make sure all my work gets done (which is easier said than done!). It is certainly hard to get out of relaxation mode after the holidays.

A lot of my classes this semester involve group work, which I find great because it allows you to simulate real world scenarios. In one of my classes we get to simulate a business and each group is a different division of the company, for example, the marketing or customer service divisions. It is very interesting and allows students to see how each division of a company comes together in order to sell a product and earn profit.

Well, I better get back to work now!

Thanks for reading,

-Sonya

Happy New Year! Hope you all had a wonderful winter break.

My last (ah!) semester has been going well thus far. I am taking some pretty interesting courses, including a brand new course in Biology called ‘Advanced Human Anatomy and Physiology’. A couple classes in, and I love it so far! I’m also taking a very neat course called ‘Bioethics’. In this class we get to discuss topics in the science/medical field and the ethics surrounding them.

This February, I’m going on a trip to Guatemala as part of the Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program at Carleton! ASB is a service-learning initiative, which connects students to local, national and international organizations and allows them to engage in community service and critical reflection. It’s another great way to get involved at Carleton while at the same time helping to make a difference in the lives of others. I’ll be sure to update you on all my experiences when I come back!

Here’s a little inspirational quote that made me smile and I thought I would share: “Just when the caterpillar thought the world was over, it became a butterfly”.

Keep smiling,

Amisha

I wasn’t able to post over the holidays, but I hope you enjoyed the season! As usual, after I handed in several end-of-semester assignments, I took time to unwind, leaving all non-essential tasks to the side. I had some long nights reading and writing for classes in the last week of the exam period, and I’m glad that’s behind me. I always try to make sure that I put hard work into any assignments or tests I write, because I know that the assignments represent me. My exams went quite well, even though I didn’t schedule my work for them as well as I should have. If you can, develop a stable class work and studying regimen, I recommend it!

For the next two posts, I thought I would share the details of a take-home assignment I had during the exam period. This is what it was like to write a 10-page paper for a philosophy seminar!

For my fourth-year seminar on Aristotle, I opted to take on a larger optional project where we were asked to compare Aristotle’s works on the care of the soul, with a popular modern book on the subject called ‘The Happiness Project’ by Gretchen Rubin. Earlier in the course, we collected our thoughts on Rubin’s book, and then divided those thoughts into specific areas of study. After that, we each chose two areas or concepts and examine Rubin’s work and compare it to Aristotle. We wrote papers on our subject, and in the following weeks, discussed the pros and cons of the ideas in our papers.

For the final assignment in the course, we were asked to submit a final version of this paper, roughly ten pages in length, double-spaced. I was admittedly daunted by this final task. You see, I’d read an awful lot of Aristotle in the course, and I knew that Aristotle had said some things that would be nice to cite—but I couldn’t locate them! My fellow students and I had also written and read numerous pages of thoughts on his works, but it was hard to sort through those notes for inspiration! Plus, I’d learned that it was very hard to classify what Aristotle had thought about in a simple, easy manner.

My paper focused more on Gretchen Rubin’s book (The Happiness Project) than on Aristotle’s work. It dealt mainly with the contradictions in Rubin’s methodology and the way in which Rubin used sources.

As with most philosophy papers where I’m asked to make an analysis or give an opinion (read: nearly all of them), the most important part of the paper happened while sitting in a chair, thinking about the material. Overall, I  think the paper turned out well and that I came up with some strong and remarkable connections.

Do you have any questions about doing such an assignment? Let me know in a comment below!

Thanks,

Aaron

This blog is dedicated to resolutions that will bring you one step closer to having an incredible semester and scoring an awesome GPA along the way!

• I will attend all classes/tutorials/peer assisted study sessions (PASS):

I know that I have mentioned this before in previous blogs, but I cannot stress how important it is for students to attend lectures and their accompanying components, such as tutorials. It may seem unnecessary at times, particularly if the lecture notes are posted online or you have a friend or fellow classmate who can lend you notes. However, in the end, your education and grades depend on your learning initiatives and whether or not you took the extra step to attend class. Professors often state that they can tell the difference between a paper that has been written by an individual who attends class and a paper by an individual who does not. So play it safe, attend class and learn!

• I will choose a major and/or courses that interest me:

In university you should attend classes because you care about the lecture material and have a vested interest in using the knowledge you gain from class outside of the lecture hall. Having said this, some of you may be wondering, “How do I know what subjects I will like if I have never taken them before?”. In the case of the Bachelor of Arts (BA) at Carleton, students can choose from a number of electives in their first year. These electives should be classes that you find interesting. This way you have a full year to experience different fields of study and determine which areas you enjoy. Just as going to class makes a difference in writing your paper and learning, so too does being engaged and passionate about what you learn!

• I will make use of my gym membership:

When you pay tuition at Carleton you get access to Carleton’s great fitness facilities! Whether you are into cardio, weights, swimming, squash, soccer, you name it – they are all available to you. While it is important to exercise your mind by keeping up with readings for your courses, it is also important to exercise your body and to eat healthy. Carleton’s gym is a great place to de-stress and get active. Athletics also offers a number of exciting fitness programs. So, in the New Year, pop on down and put that membership to good use!

• I will be social:

Whether you are extroverted or introverted, it is always important to meet up with friends and take a break from the world of academia. While school is important, it is also important to have a healthy social life.  Make sure to take a break from studying every once and a while to enjoy yourself. Ottawa is a beautiful city and there is always a lot to do.  P.S. If you haven’t heard of Winterlude, check it out! It’s definitely something to mark on your calendars.

So, there you have it! While there are many more resolutions that I could fire off for you, I hope that these will serve to kick start your new year. Best of luck!

Cheers!

Madison

I used this trick during my first writing internship this past summer at a local magazine. Looming deadlines and re-working stories wasn’t as daunting when I could think ahead to scrolling through my published work on the magazine’s website!

The less stress you have, the more concentration you can invest into doing a job well done. And a job well done doesn’t go unrewarded. Over the holidays, I checked the magazine’s home page and saw they posted a “Best of 2011″ list. The editors looked back at all the articles they published in 2011 and highlighted their favourite reviews, features and Q&As. Two of my stories made the list! I remember scouring through articles and re-reading my work dozens of times to make sure my writing was at my best. It turned out the time and effort I invested grew into a much greater reward.

This New Year, I hope you face your own work with a positive attitude and commit to doing the best you can. After all, your effort could go a long way!

I’m back! As in back in Ottawa, from a much needed and fantastic Christmas break. It didn’t start to feel like Christmas until I returned home (Sarnia, ON) after exams. My roommates and I didn’t put up any decorations at our house in Ottawa and there were no decorations on our the street. During exams I lived in my room, so there were no festivities for me. When I went home, however, the whole house was decked out in wreaths, garlands, candles in the windows and a big Christmas tree in the living room. It was a real one too! All of a sudden it felt like Christmas time.

The university exam period can be quite stressful. It is usually two full weeks of studying, eight hours or more per day, reading and trying to retain all the necessary information. It was a bonus finishing exams and coming back home to good food cooked by my mother. Life doesn’t get any better than that!

After getting my marks back, I found out that if I do as well in the coming semester as I did last semester I will retain my scholarship, which is awesome, and I am so grateful for it. I am really looking forward to this coming semester. We are finished our Form and Colour class and will now be taking a Computer Applications class. This is one of the areas I love! I am super excited to learn more about computer modelling and all the joys that come along with it. It is a very technical skill, but I enjoy those kinds of things, so it is going to be fun.

I remember back in grade 12 working on my Industrial Design portfolio during the Christmas break. I was the last one of my friends to hear back about whether I was accepted to Carleton or not due to the portfolio review. This was quite a stressful time, but all the hard work definitely paid off! The portfolio was where all my free time was spent in grade 12, between working at Tim Hortons and studying hard to keep up my marks, any extra time I had was allotted to portfolio building. For anyone currently working on a portfolio, be sure to review the information available on the Undergraduate Admissions page.

I hope to catch up with you again once we have a project or two under our belt.

That’s all for now,

Chad