As we get ready to celebrate convocation on Tuesday, June 13, our graduates share some of the moments that mattered from their Mac Eng journey.
Four students reflected on a few of the following moments:
Spark moment – the moment that defined the beginning of their Mac Eng journey
Flame moment – a time they overcame a big obstacle
Heartwarming moment - a faculty or staff member that made the biggest impact on them during their time at Mac Eng
Flicker moment – one thing that surprised them during their time at Mac Eng
Ember moment – one thing they learned at Mac Eng that they’ll take with them on their future endeavors
Fireball moment – marks the end of their journey at Mac
Angel Liang
BTech Automation – Smart Systems
Spark moment: My journey began when I became an ambassador for MacEng, working alongside the Recruitment Office. As part of my role, I guided prospective families on informative tours and eagerly volunteered at events such as First Robotics and Fall Preview Days. These opportunities left an incredible mark on me, creating unforgettable memories. Moreover, I had the pleasure of meeting incredible individuals like Trish, Natalia, and Jimika, who enriched my experiences with their presence. I am sincerely grateful for this invaluable experience and the people I encountered along the way.
Flame moment: During my 12-month co-op at Venture Academy, I had the opportunity to work on youth outreach at the Recruitment Office. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, we successfully transitioned events online and later resumed in-person activities. One highlight was presenting at the first InSTEM conference since the pandemic. With an amazing team, we overcame nerves and delivered a compelling presentation. I am grateful for the enriching experiences and connections made at Venture Academy.
Fireball moment: The photo of me on the bench marks the end of my undergraduate journey with MacEng. It serves as a cherished last profile picture, symbolizing the culmination of countless memories. I am immensely grateful for the guidance, support, and cool merch (can’t forget that!) provided along the way. Although this chapter concludes here, I look forward to our paths crossing once more in the near future.
Hunter Kennedy Ceranic
Mechatronics Engineering & Society
Heartwarming moment: It’s super hard to decide on just one moment, since there’s many professors I want to shout out who have greatly impacted me (Dr. Martin von Mohrenschildt, and Dr. Elizabeth Hassan to name a few). But undoubtedly the people who have had the most impact on me have been the people in the Engineering & Society office, Steph Haak, Dr. Cam Churchill and Anna Sciascetti. There’s so many stories I could tell about my interactions with them, but one that comes to mind was when myself and my friends were planning The Event, we needed to print some posters, which we mentioned in passing to Anna. Without skipping a beat Anna told us she wouldn’t mind helping us by printing the posters and whenever we needed something small like that to not hesitate to give her a call. Everyone in the E&S office have made so many little gestures of kindness like that over the years, and we are so grateful and lucky to have them running the best program at McMaster (Engineering & Society)!
Flicker moment: Looking back to the earlier parts of my journey, I was much more quiet, or maybe more I was afraid of being loud. I remember back to my Welcome Week in 2017, and being amazed by these upper years who seemed to have these huge personalities and molded the social atmosphere around them. They were role-models to us in more ways than one, and they were the Wardens of this amorphous idea we at Mac Eng called culture. They brought whole rotisserie chickens to eat at SAGM, and talked about The Event, and Hatch and Thode, and certain statues long forgotten. I never thought I would be like them. I still don’t think I am, but I do think I discovered their secret: I learned how to be myself. And now in my final year, I can say I was the person who ate rotisserie chickens at SAGM, and helped run The Event, where we definitely talked about Hatch and Thode, and all the other stuff the old people talked about. I’m surprised I’m that person now, but man has it been fun, I can see why they did it!
Ember moment: I think something I learned, or rather, something I discovered at Mac Eng is the importance of giving back. Something I always say is that engineering is a team sport… and while we’re here at Mac Eng, the whole community is your team. There are so many different people here, that you can, and inevitably will, learn so many different things from. Immersing myself in the community was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made, but deciding to work towards giving back has been even more rewarding. When you’ve been at Mac Eng for 6 years like me, you’ve seen and experienced so much, that I felt it was my obligation to seek out people I could share some of these experiences with, to share my knowledge so that hopefully it can be passed down in the future as well. This idea of giving back is really what defines our community, and I take great pride in being someone who has been an Ambassador, a Redsuit, and a community figure that people know they can go to for advice. No matter where I go or what I’ll do in the future know this: I will be the person who is sitting in Hatch (or anywhere for that matter), and is open to having a chat about anything at any time. Cause at the end of the day, I like helping people.
Abby Buller
Engineering Physics
Flicker moment: Even though I knew this was the case going in, I was still surprised by just how strong of a community Mac Eng is. There are so many different clubs/teams/events that it’s easy to meet other students who are excited and passionate about the same things as you. And once you find your people, you’ve got cheerleaders for life. There is always someone rooting for you or there to lend a hand to help get you through those tougher days.
Ember moment: As a woman in engineering, I have learnt to be confident in my abilities and knowledge, and not be afraid to take up space. Everyone has moments of self-doubt but I am learning each day to hold my own and to always shoot my shot. This mindset has led to some incredible opportunities including completing a summer research internship in Germany and I can’t wait to see where it will take me in the future!
Flame moment: A big obstacle I (and a lot of the 2023 grads) overcame was being a student during a global pandemic. We were building rangefinders on our dining room tables and doing midterms in our bedrooms. Despite this, we stuck together and got each other through it. While it’s sad I missed out on in-person time with my program, I think in some ways it definitely brought us closer together for our last year in-person.
Patrick Wojtera
B.Tech. Automation
Spark moment: In the beginning of my first year – during our Welcome Week, I saw a table by the McMaster Engineering Society booth advertising positions not for 4th, 5th, or 6th year, but specifically for first year students. This set a precedence of inclusion and community in the Engineering community that is extremely unique to our group!
Ember moment: Network, Network, Network! Through our co-op program, and the ECCS, I’ve learned how important it is to network and make those connections to strengthen not only our personal goals, but our future positions and opportunities as well. From being a tour guide with the McMaster Engineering Outreach Office, I was able to get a connection that led me to my first co-op at Siemens in their software division. After that, through an event held by my program society, I met an alumni from the B.Tech. program, which led me to my next 2 co-op terms, and a full time job afterward.
Fireball moment: Helping run and successfully hosting the most recent (and largest) B.Tech. Alumni Night in CIBC Hall. An annual event run by the Bachelor of Technology Association, this year hosting over 100 students and 15+ alumni!
