Stories from the Arch

Manveetha

Thank you, McMaster. It’s been a journey.

My entire undergrad has been a series of trial and error, hoping in the end that it would all work...

Manveetha

What I learned in my final year

It’s been a couple of weeks since I officially finished my exams and final assignments. As this chapter of my...

Barkhaa Talat

The Planned Happenstance Project: Barkhaa Talat

Many people do not want to think about the possibility of not getting the acceptance they want or having their...

Fabiha headshot

The Planned Happenstance Project: Fabiha Faiza Islam

The language was never a barrier, but transitioning was difficult... In the end, I realized that cultural differences exist, but...

Olamide

The Planned Happenstance Project: Olamide Ilori

I realized that the university curriculum is very different from that of high school and to succeed I must change...

Ananya

The Planned Happenstance Project: Ananya Sharma

At the end of the day, you have to try. I know it’s so much easier to say than do...

Asma in MDCL

The Planned Happenstance Project: Asma Maqsood

When I was in my first year, I took a mandatory cell biology class. Although I had been a good...

Sharif next to the Engineering ring at McMaster

The Planned Happenstance Project: Sharif Mohammad

There is a policy in my home university where they hire the top one student in the department as a...

Manveetha

Dreaming of warmer days

The fact that I don’t have anything planned for the summer and the future should be exciting because, for the...

Morgan headshot

The Planned Happenstance Project: Morgan Martin

My barrier at times has been myself and not believing in myself – I think it’s the biggest barrier you...

Headshot of Reta in a classroom

The Planned Happenstance Project: Reta Meng

I’ve heard of this saying where it’s like, it’s not the fact that you think about the future that makes...

Collage of students who participated in the planned happenstance project

Introducing The Planned Happenstance Project

Often growing up we are led to believe that career paths are linear; however, this is often not the case...

Patricia headshot

Life After Mac Week: Recent grad, Patricia Kousoulas, shares her experience

I vividly remember that during the first three days in the school… I hated it and instantly regretted signing up....

Manveetha

When life gets too stressful, go to a concert

I left like losing my student card was some sort of a metaphor for the identity crisis I was having....

Manveetha

Manveetha’s Declassified School Survival Guide: Study Habits Edition

So, here are some study tips that I’ve learned over the past few years through trial and error.

Image that says Manveetha

Manveetha’s Declassified School Survival Guide: Time Management Edition

As much as I don’t like sticking to a schedule and wish my life wasn’t a routine, learning how to...

Manveetha at the Horizons conference

Dear first-year me

Failing something in first-year doesn’t determine the outcome of the rest of your undergrad and it doesn’t mean that you...

Manveetha with volunteers

McMaster, meet the world. World, meet McMaster.

At the age of five, I travelled alone on a plane for the first time. Although it was a short...

Manveetha

Final-year unknowns

My obsession with making the “right” decision has been at an all-time high. Although I can make a pros and...

Achievement Habit book

Tales of an A+ procrastinator

Since I’ll be going into my final year this September, I wanted to reflect on my habits and ways of...