I was THAT student! You know... the one that was always talking and disrupting the class. When I was younger I use to walk to the front of the class with my hand raised because I wanted and needed the teacher to answer my hand. I remember in grade 8 science, I had entered the class at the beginning of September thinking “this is my year!” I sat next to my best friend Jess and started talking with my peers around me. The teacher walks in, and without skipping a beat she points to me and says “nope, your seat is right here for the rest of the year”. She pointed to a seat that was in the very front of the classroom facing the wall (which had a very large eagle picture on it by the way), meaning that my back was not only to the class but also the teacher. I also want to point out that until that day I had never had an experience with this teacher, so I am 100% sure that the other teachers were warning her about me...

I got an A+ in science that year. My entire workload consisted of me drawing a master piece of that eagle on my desk, and not doing the science fair. My attitude was if she didn’t want me to be part of the class, I wasn’t going to be. My grade reflected that the teacher just didn’t want to deal with me. But, my other grades within the school were great, I just was a disruptive student. I realized after that year that the only way I was going to successfully learn in school was to seek assistance outside of the typical dynamic where someone would get assistance. I reached out to other classmates, guidance counselors, eventually in high school even university students within the city. I had learned to study and teach myself theories and application outside of the school system.

When I had decided I wanted to go into university I realized that I had learned a skill, because the professors were not going to be holding my hand throughout the courses. They came to class, they read their lectures and they left. It’s the students’ responsibility to build studying habits and learn how to apply their knowledge to the real world. Which I had already learned to do while I was in grade school... Hold on a second. CULTURE SHOCK!!! How does one get culture shock without moving anywhere... wait... the international students are experiencing what I am experiencing 1000x more than I am?? ... HIGH SCHOOL DOES NOT PREPARE YOU FOR WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO DIVE HEAD FIRST INTO. Have I made that clear? No?... ok!! You know how in high school you are like "hahaha I have a 95% overall average, and I have a few friends, and I can play all the video games I want, and plus sleep all weekend, and eat whatever I want". Culture shock is about to happen while you are sitting on your couch staring at the wall because for some reason staring at the wall is a stress response to the work load that is included at university. Ok yes, grades are important. That’s obvious. But there are skills and experiences that are not taught by going to class. To be successful during and after your undergrad, you need different skills other than getting an A in your social behaviour class (nobody tells you this!!)

Academic success is more than just good grades. And if you want to go to graduate school... there is a long list of other requirements that are needed other than grades. When students learn about these other requirements, it is either too late to apply, so late in the academic program that more schooling is required, and hundreds of questions that no one seems to know the answers to.

Even myself, who was involved within the university had to take an extra year and a year off to prepare myself for my academic journey. If I had someone who was able to tell me what I needed and help guide me to those resources and help prepare me, I would have saved myself 2 years, and about $10,000 of tuition and book costs (I can hear the senior students now... "Let them figure it out themselves!!! Muahahahaha.)

From my mentoring within the Social Attitudes Psychology lab at Saint Mary’s University, I soon learned that a lot of the students who were approaching me really had no idea what they needed to do to either go into graduate school, apply to professional programs, or even just gather information about co-op or volunteer experience. I spent most of my time guiding these students and helping them gain the required experience they need to get to their next goal in life.

I decided that through Alpha Ethics, I want to be able to guide more students into the career path that is best suited for them. And doing this earlier on in their academic career, so they can realize what is needed while going into their 2nd and 3rd year and not in their final year of study, or their victory lap or two. It should not be "the norm" that students are taking a 5th year to aquire research experience or an honours degree because they found out about the requirements too late. Some quick advice I can give to any students reading this now:

Get involved! In whatever capacity that means to you! Volunteer in the community, join a society, run for board of directors. Do something that will make you stand out to future employers', graduate schools, or even a honours supervisor.
Get to know your professors. Introduce yourself, go and tell them your interests. If they aren’t the same as yours I can guarantee you, they know someone who might have the same interests. This is how you build relationships with the right people.
For science students. Apply to volunteer in labs. Become a research assistant. The wealth of knowledge you learn there is unmatched.
Become a teacher assistant. You build meaningful relationships this way as well as grasp the literature and academic concepts differently than you would as a student.

This is honestly only the surface level of what should be done as a student interested in pursuing academia and professional programs.

I am offering 1 on 1 academic success coaching to students who are interested in learning these steps and want to obtain meaningful positions within the university. I am also willing to do workshops for students who want to pursue an honours, graduate school, or research within the university environment.

I guarantee you now that my grade 8 science teacher would be shocked to know that I’ve attended close to 20 national and international conference all over the world and that I am able to convey scientific findings to not only academics and scientists but also my community.

Remember, asking for assistance will get you a long way. Go to the people in your community and talk to them about how you can help them grow. Make it a win for them and a win for you. Stay smart.