SYUTBAI

I first attended CUTC in 2007 as a delegate. I had a phenomenal time at the conference. I met a lot of people, both from Waterloo and other schools. In particular, I got to know a really interesting guy from McGill University who debated with me on which killer application we should be developing for the team challenge. I still remember that discussion about fridge-orders and eliminating the supermarket industry. While waiting on the next keynote, we continued on debating about career prospects. He was really interested in start-ups and was meeting his UW partners at the conference. I had been looking into start-ups and entrepreneurship since first year, but this was the first time I debated with someone regarding starting your own business. It was so much fun and I learned a lot! I also met my first incredible entrepreneur, Rahim Fazal. I was lucky to get some mentorship from him after his seminar as I expressed my concerns about finding that passion for what you want to do in life.

CUTC 2007 was a very memorable conference for me. So for CUTC 2008, I came on board as a logistics organizer. Then I became a Sponsorship Executive for CUTC 2009. I love CUTC and will be continuing my involvement with CUTC 2010 where the planning is currently underway!

I was very excited about this opportunity with my networking background and keen interest in entrepreneurship and start-ups.

Bringing like-minded students together is awesome. In the eight months that I've stayed in Velocity, I've met some incredible students that very driven, ambitious, fascinating and hard-working.

There are also quality speakers that come in to talk to us including VC partners, experienced entrepreneurs, market researcher, Intellectual Property lawyer, and entrepreneurs in technology start-ups. There are also workshops for the different platforms: Apple iPhone, Rim Blackberry, and Google Android.

Opportunities abound in this great initiative. I look forward to seeing what the future brings!

I joined the list of volunteer English tutors in September 2008. I have been paired up with an Actuarial Science Graduate student from Japan. Based on the needs of my partner, I've primarily focused on pronunciation skills and spontaneous conversation skills in our sessions. I've found his written skills quite good, as is typical of most foreign language graduate students. I've also helped him practice presentation skills. A few of our sessions have been dedicated to presentation rehearsals and feedback.

In Fall term, I completed just over 16 hours of tutoring. Since January, I've completed almost 10 hours of tutoring, which is the goal for this busy term. I plan on continuing in summer as we are both still in Waterloo.

I am one of the authors for this great initiative that a friend put together. The blog targets to eliminate the stereotype of this male-dominated profession by providing real-life stories of current women or female students in Engineering. This is especially important for younger women like high school students who may not be aware of the full breadth of the Engineering profession.

I helped out with running the Junior and Senior competitions for CEC 2008. The Junior competition had student teams build a bridge out of pasta. A Lego car carrying weights was dragged across the bridge in order to test the strength of the bridges. My primary task was to prepare and coordinate each test run including building (and rebuilding) the Lego vehicles.

The Senior competition involved students making an apparatus that melted ice on one side and be a fridge on the other. My primary task was to set-up and tear-down the electrical set-up, as well as keep time for each of the presentations. I got to witness some very creative solutions and met a very interesting team that came all the way from Europe.

This was an awesome conference that was organized by Jevon MacDonald and David Crow, with an amazing line of speakers. I got a lot out of volunteering for this event on that exciting day in Toronto where I was seeking to learn more about the start-up environment. I also met my second incredible entrepreneur, Austin Hill. I even got some mentoring tips from him that I put to good use. =) Although my makeshift coat check didn't make the cut, the conference was still tons of fun!