TORONTO
LES PRINCE
CHILD HEALTH
NAYANTARA GHOSH
Hobbies/Fun Fact/ Extra-curricular:
I am a huge bookworm- I love reading and
can stay on the couch for hours with a good
book (much to my mom's disapproval). I also
love fashion, and being involved with the
BHSc Charity Fashion Show for the last two
years has allowed me to combine this passion
with a great cause. I also speak three
languages fluently, only like desserts
abundant with chocolate, love kids and I'm
extremely excited to meet everyone in the
incoming 2019 class!
Greatest Struggle in first year: The greatest
challenge for me in first year was figuring out
how to make decisions that were best for me,
and not merely follow the norm. I had a
diverse set of interests in first year, including
many courses that were not very common
electives, and often felt a little unsure about pursuing them. However, these were the best decisions I made and it has been so important to me to shape my own way in these past 3 years! Always be open to guidance and advice, but ultimately, make your university experience YOURS and do what is best suited to you!
OAKVILLE
OFF CAMPUS
WILDTYPE
YISHI SUN
Hobbies/Fun Fact/ Extra-curricular:
Ball, gym, bench press, student politics,
feeling a part of a community, impacting
student life positively, EDM, rap, Star Wars,
Game of Thrones
Greatest Struggle in first year: Living off
campus first year, I felt as if I wouldn't be able
to make as many friends and make
meaningful connections. Oh how I was so
wrong! The key wherever you're living first
year is to have a friendly attitude, to meet new
people and friends regardless of their faculty,
and to get involved at McMaster!
MISSISSAUGA
HEDDEN HALL
WILDTYPE
KIM WONG
Hobbies/Fun Fact/ Extra-curricular:
I'm currently the captain of the McMaster
Cheerleading team. A dream of mine is to
open a food truck. During the summer, I visit
Mississauga Animal Services once a week to
play with the dogs. I'm also minoring in
Anthropology.
Greatest Struggle in first year: I let other
people's stress become my own. It's
something that I still struggle with today, but
you just gotta keep on keeping. Block out
what makes you feel down, and focus on
anything and everything that brings you up!
MISSISSAUGA
WHIDDEN HALL
WILDTYPE
ADAM EQBAL
Hobbies/Fun Fact/ Extra-curricular:
Eating good food is my hobby. Fun fact:
I always order two mains.
Greatest Struggle in first year: My biggest
challenge in first year was trying to keep track
of all of the important academic dates. Being
a fairly visual person I bought a large wall
calendar and stuck it over my bed so I could
always see the month in advance.
MISSISSAUGA,
HEDDEN HALL
WILDTYPE
NAMITA DEODHARE
Hobbies/Fun Fact/ Extra-curricular:
I love to dance and have been part of the
McMaster dance community since first year. I
am also involved with the Health Sciences
musical.
Greatest Struggle in first year: When I came
to university, at first, I didn't really know where
I was going to fit in. I came from a relatively
small school so the size of the campus and
amount of people were kind of overwhelming,
but as I became more comfortable with the
campus I found out about all the incredible
clubs and communities that were nestled
within it. The McMaster campus is so versatile
and it really does a have something for
everyone, you've just got to do some
exploring!
TORONTO
HEDDEN HALL
CHILD HEALTH
LIZ POPE
Hobbies/Fun Fact/ Extra-curricular:
I love food, I'm Health Sci Musical director,
and I recorded a jazz album. Spirit animal:
blob fish.
Greatest Struggle in first year: The biggest
struggle for me in first year was a lack of
motivation, especially with schoolwork. The
biggest thing that helped me overcome it was
finding a group of friends to study with, which
not only made it more fun, but honestly was
much more productive and helpful (I have a
tendency to get distracted when I'm alone). I
've been studying with friends ever since, and
it's the best way to go!
NORTH YORK
MCKAY HALL
WILDTYPE
ALEX MANTA
Hobbies/Fun Fact/ Extra-curricular:
Love soccer and everything about it. Watch
about 10 games a week on average and play
for Toronto Croatia in the Canadian Soccer
League
Greatest Struggle in first year: I was always
homesick at the beginning of first year, I was
always thinking about going home and it was
affecting my mood and time at McMaster.
Luckily, thanks to the amazing BHSc staff and
great resources on campus I was able to
develop some healthy coping strategies and it
allowed me to have a truly amazing
experience here.
MISSISSAUGA
WHIDDEN HALL
WILDTYPE
CHIANA GARVIDA
Hobbies/Fun Fact/ Extra-curricular:
I really enjoy food, the Health Sci Musical,
Game of Thrones, Beyoncé, food, Harry Potter,
food, cooking, and food. I also do a pretty
good Ariana Grande impression imo.
Greatest Struggle in first year: My greatest
challenge in first year was being more
confident in myself. It took some time, but I
was able to overcome this by taking it day by
day, focusing on my own progress, and trying
not to compare myself to others. Put your
best work forward and be confident in that -
the only person you should try to be better
than is the person you were yesterday!
OAKVILLE
LES PRINCE
WILDTYPE
ASHLYN PINTO
Hobbies/Fun Fact/ Extra-curricular:
I was involved in the BHSc Charity Fashion
show last year as the Set Design Exec and
highly recommend that you all take part in it!
The only sport I play is soccer unless you
count shopping at Aritzia as a sport. A fun fact
about me is that I once got called out on
Spotted at Mac for watching Grey's Anatomy
in the library at 2 am.
Greatest Struggle in first year: My greatest
challenge in first year was dealing with the
stress of adjusting to a new environment. It
was a big transition from high school to
university and it honestly took me a few
months to figure it out. However, between
taking school more seriously and finding ways
to relieve my stress, such as going to the gym
and hanging out with my friends, I found
myself handling university much better by the end of the year.
TORONTO
MARY KEYES
GLOBAL HEALTH
SHARON YEUNG
Hobbies/Fun Fact/ Extra-curricular:
I have very small ears and very plump
earlobes. So plump, in fact, that I was charged
extra for my ear piercings.
Get me talking about global health, Malcolm
Gladwell, or the delicious, 10-grain nature of
Multigrain Cheerios, and you will literally not
be able to get me to stop.
Greatest Struggle in first year: Having come
from a high school lifestyle of copious
amounts of extra-curricular activities and
leadership positions, I found myself faced
with a blank slate of an identity in first year. It
seemed like ever extra-curricular activity had
a selection process attached to it, and the
large-scale nature of different student groups
shocked my world view (which, admittedly,
had been confined to a safe little 500-membered-private-all-girls-high-school bubble). For all the first years, I encourage you to explore all of the extra-curricular activities you can be involved in, both within and beyond the McMaster community. Don’t be discouraged if an activity isn’t what you envision it to be – just keep searching for activities that you enjoy and balance your academic commitments well. And finally, explore and try new things. Yes, that includes juggling. And auditioning for the musical. And joining the gospel choir.
Extra protip: For a directory of McMaster clubs, check out the MSU website!
MILTON
COMMUTER
WILDTYPE
ROMAN GULKO
Hobbies/Fun Fact/ Extra-curricular:
Interests: Soccer (love), Video Games,
Reading, Friendship, Playing
Fun Fact: Born in Ukraine, Speak 4 Languages
(English, French, Russian, Ukrainian)
Greatest Struggle in first year: My biggest
challenge in first year was overcoming my
fear of not being able to establish close
friendships and missing out on certain events
due to me not living on campus. I overcame
this challenge by becoming involved in the
community as much as I could (i.e. clubs,
committees, etc.). Additionally, it was very
easy to make friends as our program is filled
with tons of awesome people!
TORONTO
OFF CAMPUS
CHILD HEALTH
STEVE MANCINI
Hobbies/Fun Fact/ Extra-curricular:
My academic interests include child
development and pediatrics. Outside of
school I’m really into sports, particularly
baseball and hockey. The Jays and Leafs are
my favourite teams, although sometimes I
crawl into bed and listen to “Say Something”
by A Great Big World after watching their
games. Speaking of music, my current playlist
consists of Jason Derulo, Walk The Moon,
Taylor Swift, Nicki Minaj and Kanye West. I
enjoy dancing, however I’m not very good at it.
I dance because it’s fun and makes for a nice
study break. My dance move of choice is a
two-step. A fun fact about myself is that I love
to smile and love to see others smiling.
Greatest Struggle in first year: My greatest
challenge resulted in one of my most valuable
learning experiences. In high school, opportunities to work in engaging academic groups were limited. Becoming a unified, collaborative group is a challenging learning process. (After three years, I am still learning). Group members may (and usually) have different ideas regarding a particular task and it’s important to learn how to integrate and build on the ideas of all members and make decisions as a group. No two groups are alike – certain strategies may serve the needs of one group, while other strategies may be needed for a different group. Personally, I found outlining group expectations at an early stage and learning how to provide constructive feedback to be useful strategies. Bringing up concerns as they arise and seeking the advice of upper year students, facilitators and professors is very helpful. Building an effective team and maximizing contributions requires mutual respect, patience, openness and commitment.
THORNHILL
MARY KEYES
WILDTYPE
ROBERT DE SANTIS
Hobbies/Fun Fact/ Extra-curricular:
I'm an avid cyclists, and BHSc enthusiast. I'm
the Chair of the Bachelor of Health Sciences
Society, so I am super invested into this
program and the student's experiences.
Please message me or talk to me if you have
questions BHSc related :).
Fun fact: I'm the 5th of 6 kids and I survived a
2 story fall.
Greatest Struggle in first year: The greatest
challenge for me in first year was finding "me
time". Being in residence its hard to separate
when you're at school and when you're at
"home". Always being in a school environment
can be tiring. So i made sure that after a
certain hour I would stop work and just relax.
BURLINGTON
COMMUTER
WILDTYPE
VISHU KARTHIK
Hobbies/Fun Fact/ Extra-curricular:
I spend the majority of my free time playing
and listening to a wide variety of music. My
favorite instrument would have to be the alto
saxophone, but I do enjoy playing the guitar
and piano as well. During the summer, I try to
spend most of my time outdoors with friends
either playing ultimate Frisbee or soccer.
Lastly, I am a video game aficionado who
enjoys both PC and console games.
Greatest Struggle in first year: One of the
biggest obstacles I faced in my first year was
deciding what I was truly passionate about
doing. I was aware that I wanted a career in
the sciences, but never had a definitive
answer when asked, "what do you plan on
doing after you graduate?". I envied my
friends who had already decided exactly what
they wanted and possessed an unwavering confidence in the path they were following. I decided to approach this issue by gaining as much exposure as possible to the various disciplines within my field of interest. The more I became actively involved, the more insight I gained. This significantly helped in shaping my ambition and goals and continues to do so as I acquire new experiences.
The fourth year Pathogens are going to share a bit about themselves - including the city they're from, the residence they lived in first year, and their specialization. Click on their picture to return to the previous page.
YEAR IV
CAMBRIDGE
BATES
WILDTYPE
ANDREEA POPESCU
Hobbies/Fun Fact/ Extra-curricular:
I like puzzles and painting and video games. I'm also involved in autism therapy and research. A fun fact about me is that I have one kidney, but I swear my parents didn't sell it so that we can come to Canada.... maybe.
Greatest Struggle in first year: First year was tough because I thought I had to fit a certain profile to be in this program, and felt as if I had a checklist of things to accomplish. Doing that took me away from the things that I loved doing most and made me happy. It took a while to realize this, but once I did, I looked around for things and activities I could get involved in that were similar to what I did in high school. McMaster has a LOT to offer in terms of extracirriculars and you will have no trouble finding a group with your hobbies and interests!
TORONTO
RESIDENCE
WILDTYPE
NATASHA DHINGRA
Hobbies/Fun Fact/ Extra-curricular:
Coming soon!
