Second Year iSci Profiles

I thought it would be fun to give a bit of information about the iSci class of 2013 now that our first year is coming to a close. Plus, the info might be useful for those of you wondering about coming to Mac next year.

Name: Krista Stemmler
Hometown: St.Agatha, just outside of the K-Dub (Kitchener-Waterloo for those not in the know)
1st year residence/off-campus: Bates, 4 person apartment
Proposed concentration/minor: Psychology, neuroscience, and behaviour (PNB) concentration; and (maybe) a minor in peace studies or earth science
1st year electives:
ANTHROP 1A03 (Cultural anthropology) - not the most mentally stimulating course but the info was interesting and is a prereq for a bunch of later anthro courses
PEACE ST 1B03 (Peace studies: the study of war) - really enjoyed this course and has persuaded me to take more peace studies courses
Future: a masters and maybe a phd, then I'll be off doing humanitarian work and not making any money
Other notes: I am VP Social of the iSci Society and one of the two iSci Welcome Week planners for this year

*please continue this format and talk about yourself*
*I do hope I don't sound too boring*

Name: Fahim Naeem
Hometown: Milton, ON
1st year residence/off-campus: Brandon Hall, double room
Proposed concentration/minor: Chemical Biology/Chemistry; minor = no idea
1st year electives:
GEOG 1HA3 (Human Geographies: Society and Culture) - pretty cool course; there's a lot of review material in the beginning about maps and things, but then later you learn more about cultural and societal features of humanity in a geographical context; you will discuss language, religion, medical geography, and other cool things [http://registrar.mcmaster.ca/CALENDAR/current/pg1863.html#50080]
ECON 1BB3 (Introductory Macroeconomics) - really did not enjoy this course and has persuaded me to not take more economics courses; honestly, this is an important subject to learn about, but i just found a 3 hour night class very boring and well ... not so exciting [http://registrar.mcmaster.ca/CALENDAR/current/pg1779.html#49682]
Future: more schooling most likely, then off to make some money
Other notes: I like the pharaoh so I will steal it .

Name: Adam Pantaleo
Hometown: Mississauga, ON
1st year residence/off campus: I lived at home in Mississauga and commuted to Mac each day. The GO bus is one of my best friends.
Proposed concentration/minor: very likely Chemistry, with no minor
1st year electives:
ENGLISH 1A03 (English, Shorter Genres): This was a nice break from iSci! I enjoyed the readings, and I had a really good prof (Dr. York). From my experience, you can do fairly well in this course with minimal effort (good to know once iSci takes over). I wish I put more effort into it, though.
PHILOS 1B03 (Philosophy, Law, and Society): Overall, an okay course. It made me think about things I normally wouldn't. The problem I have with philosophy is that it's fairly subjective, I think.
Future: if I survive iSci, probably a Master's, then probably a PhD, then I want my own lab. Haha. As far as I can tell, it'll be something to do with chemistry. No idea what, though.
Other notes: I'm commuting again next year, I plan to sit in "my spot" in iStudy again next year, I have four budgies, I play flute, and I'm proud to say I'm a St. Marcellinus band geek. Go Mississauga! Music makes you smarter.

iSci is awesome!

Sweet idea Krista!

Name: Prateek Gupta
Hometown: Ajax, ON (east of Toronto)
1st year residence/off-campus: Keyes: suite style (aka best res ever)
Proposed concentration/minor: Earth+Enviro Science, either a minor in biology or astronomy
1st year electives:
Same as Fahim: (Human geo, and macroecon). Take human geo, it's fairly work-intensive but it's pretty interesting so it's not too bad. never ever take macroeconomics, even if you enjoyed economics in high school, it's just way too boring and too theory-based.
Future: Probably for the long haul working towards a PhD, then I want to expand either to government or media.
Other notes: If anyone else enjoys board games, DDR, jeopardy, or reality TV shows (such as apprentice, survivor, amazing race), we're becoming best friends next year haha! (And yes, there's plenty of time to keep all your interests and hobbies up in iSci)

name: <----
Hometown: Vancouver, BC (west of Toronto)
1st year: Les Prince 503...2nd year probs on campus too
Concentration: Biology+minor in math????
1st year electives: HUMAN GEO! (it wasn't that exciting) compsci 1fc3
Future: hmm i'm leaning towards grad school i.e. a PHD at the end of the day but maybe medschool if something changes
Other notes: i'm down to play basketball whenever; I enjoy most types of video games: RPGs, SSBM, SSB64 etc.; I'm also down to play poker almost whenever; and obviously Go NUX go...even though they let me down today I'll keep on believing.

And again: amazing idea krista definitely makes it less creepy if the isci 2014s are reading our profiles/intros as well

Name: Darren Fernandes
Hometown: Brampton AKA "B-Town"
High School: St. Edmund Campion
First year Residence: Mary Keyes
Concentration: Probably Physics or Math
Favourite Subject: Science and Math
Future: I have no idea. Probably research in Neuroscience (since its very interdisciplinary)
Hobbies: Music and Video games
First Year Elective: ANTHRO 1A03 (easiest course ever, only spent a week of effort on the course: 1 day for each of the 2 essays, 4 days to study for exam)
COMPSCI 1FC3 (tough course if you are not good at solving puzzles, toughest final exam I have ever seen in my life)

Name: Scot Brown

Hometown: technically Toronto, but it is still Schomberg in my mind

High School: P.A.C.E.

First Year Residence: Bates

Concentration: Math with a minor I haven't chosen yet (probably Chad Bio or Physics)

Favourite Subject: Can't choose, but I'd say it's between all iSci subjects BUT chem and cell bio

Future: Professor of something... probably math and/or physics and/or ecology (I will get a masters and/or a PhD before teaching a University course...)

Hobbies: Snowboarding, Fencing, Video games, Indie Music, Anime. also I like playing cards, but wouldn't classify it as a hobby.

First Year Elective: Microeconomics ECON 1B03 (Really easy, but annoyingly boring) I am also taking Linear Algebra I MATH 1B03 over the summer of first year, don't know if it counts... (I dropped Med Phys)

Well, I'm not sure how much the incomers care about us old 2nd year folks, but here goes...

Name: Jyssika Russell
Hometown: Ottawa
High School: Colonel By S.S.
First year Residence: BRAN-DON!
Proposed Concentration: Biology, most likely
Future: I like school, so I'll probably do some more. I'd like to get a M.Sc., and who knows from there?
First Year Electives: ENG 1AA3 (Longer Genres): Okay course, it really depends on the prof you get. If you did well in high school english, and don't mind reading several books during the semester, you'll be good. Other than reading, there wasn't too much work (Two essays, a presentation, and an exam)
ANTHRO 1Z03: Didn't actually take this course, I dropped it after a few weeks. Subject matter is interesting, but the prof that taught our section was pretty bad (heard that the other prof was amazing though). Some other iSci's took it fully and did really well.

Haha, Nick, "west of Toronto"

Name: Rachel Charney

Hometown: Toronto (North York)

1st year residence: Bates, 4 person apartment

Proposed concentration: Psychology

1st year electives:
ENGLISH 1A03 (Shorter Genres) - I definitely agree with Adam's description of this course even though I had a different professor (Zuroski-Jenkins)
HISTORY 2X03 (Jewish History)

Future: I have no idea, but definitely more school after iSci. Maybe law school?

Name: Alex Nielsen
Hometown: Hudson, Ohio...yea im from the stats
1st year
residence/off-campus: Matthews, single with washroom.
Proposed
concentration/minor: Chembio, biochem, chemistry or just iSci
Classics 1B03 - Trojan war stuff. Really interesting prof and fun lectures. One essay, midterm was rough but the final was good. Have to go to tutorials!
Science 1E03 : Physics in Medicine and Biology. Basically a course about the physics behind MRI and X-ray. 2 essays which weren't too bad but did take time. NO MIDTERM. Assignments throughout, and a pretty easy final.
Future: prob going for a masters and maybe a phd. I wanna go into pharmaceuticals probably, and have a job at Astrazeneca in Boston studying cancer chemistry for the summer.
Other
notes: I'm an international student, so if that applies to you I might be able to offer some words of advice. I'm also VP Finance for iSci society.

Name: Julianne Bagg

Hometown: Guelph, ON

1st year residence/off-campus: Les Prince

Proposed concentration/minor: Earth Sciences (pretty sure this is what I want to do now), hopefully with a minor in Anthropology or Archaeology if I can make it work!

1st year electives:
ANTHROP 1B03 (Intro to World Archaeology) - I really enjoyed this course, though there is a lot of material to learn! But the prof was really cool and I've always like this type of stuff so I found the content interesting.
ANTHROP 1Z03 (Human Species: Becoming and Being Human) - Course content was interesting and the textbook was awesome! Prof wasn't the best which kind of ruined it a bit but I still liked the content.

Future: Definitely more school. Not too sure what I want to do so I just want to try new things while I'm at school and go with the flow and hopefully end up somewhere doing something I love!

Other notes: I love hockey a LOT, especially the OHL (because I can actually go watch them play on a regular basis - Go Guelph Storm!!). I am going to Greece this summer to go to an archaeological field school, which I'm really pumped for!! Also, I am VP Admin of the iSci Society and I'm really excited for next year!

Name: Emily Taylor

Hometown: Port Hope, ON

1st year residence/off-campus: 825 Brandon Hall (LOVED IT!)

Proposed
concentration/minor: Earth+Enviro Sciences, maybe with a minor in biology, or philosophy(maybe)

1st year electives:
ECON 1B03 (Intro to Microeconomics) - I thought this course was alright. I would have gotten a lot more out of it if I was able to put more time and effort into the course.

I didn't take an elective second term!

Future:
I definitely will be taking more school after iSci - I don't see myself going directly into research! I have always wanted to go to medical school as I want to have a job in the health care field, but that could easily change as I have been able to learn about many new opportunities for my future that I had not considered before. I just want to end up doing something that I love to do!

Other notes:
Like Julianne, I love (and play) hockey a lot too (and other sports as well)! I also really love to volunteer and work with children. I just had knee surgery though so I have had to put my active life on hold while I recover! I'm
really excited for next school year!

I think it might be best not to use the terms "1st year" and "2nd year", because although we will be in our second year of studies, the 2014s will be the second year of isci. Similarly, they are first year students, but we are the first year's students of isci. Kinda confusing. So I think we should call ourselves the originals, and all subsequent years the inferiors. Or 2013s and 2014s work too. But that's a little more boring.


Name: anonymous (names are to the left in green, so this is silly)

Hometown: Morrisburg...a tiny town south of Ottawa (ENE of Toronto). Between Brockville and Cornwall. Home of Upper Canada Village.

1st year residence/off-campus: Hedden Hall, single room

Proposed concentration/minor: Biology

1st year electives:
English (longer genres): this was a pretty cool course if you like to read novels and write essays (which I do)
Macroeconomics: this course has some interesting material but is mostly very boring. >1000 student class size doesn't help

Future: Who knows? I have no plans after April 2013, and it's pretty patchy up until then.

Other notes: I will be a CA (community advisor) in Bates residence this year, so you can expect lots of apples from me if you live there. Oh, and I live on an apple farm.

Name: Emily Kramer
Hometown: Hampton, a.k.a the Boonies
1st year residence/off-campus: Woodstock, Single room
Proposed concentration/minor: Psychology neuroscience and behaviour (PNB) concentration and hopefully a minor in linguistics
1st year electives:
LINGUIST 1A03 (Intro to Linguistics 1) - I really loved this course (as I am looking to study this further) My prof, Anna Moro, was amazing. The content wasn't particularly challenging, but it was interesting and required a bit of memorization. Has a midterm and a bunch of small quizzes and assignments that keep you on track and balance out the mark distribution (and the final of course).
PHILOS 1B03 (Philosophy of Law and society) - Hmm, well... I had high hopes for this course. It was alright, but I didn't learn anything that I couldn't have from reading some essays. The prof was okay, but not particularly inspired (and he said "um" a LOT, as in, excessively). Three essays and a final.
Future: Nothing definite, but I have some vague notions...
Hobbies: Baking, video games, tennis, soccer

Leave it up to Solomon to get all smart and stuff.

Hometown: Thornhill, Ont. I'm a Vaughan Secondary School alum

1st year res: Whidden Hall, 248. Triple Room and loved it

Proposed Concentration/minor: Psychology neuroscience and behaviour (PNB), Physics, Biology, Earth Sci. Im still deciding :S

1st year electives: English- Longer Genres, and Anthropology 1Z03.

Future: Grad School probably, and travel, lots and lots of travel.

Other notes: I'm on the Mac Ultimate team and would be stoked if any current, or new coming iSci's joined the team! C'mon dooooo ittt

Name: Alexandria Afonso

Hometown: Mississauga, ON (WOOHOOO)

1st year residence/off-campus: 419 McKay Hall

Proposed
concentration/minor: biochemistry

1st year electives:
SOCIO 1A06 - a lot easier than any of the iSci courses and not as much work but I found it boring and really dreaded going to class every week so the only reason I went was because Jordan made me feel bad if I didnt

Future: who knows but I will definitely be in school for a long while

Other notes: I am SOOOOOOOO excited for welcome week

Yohan Yee

Hometown: Scarbados aka Scarlem aka Scar Lanka aka Scarborough, a quaint and picturesque suburb of Toronto.

1st year Rez: Whidden Hall

1st year electives: ANTHROP 1A03 (a big joke), PHILOS 1B03 (legit)

Concentration: physics, with a possibly minor in math

Future: do something epic

Name: Joshua Simmonds
Nickname(s): Joshua (not Josh)

Hometown: King City, ON (near Aurora)
High School: The Country Day School (CDS)

First Year Residence: Keyes, 4 person suite
Concentration: Math, and possibly a minor in Computer Science

1st year electives:
COMP SCI 1FC3 (Mathematics for Computing)
MATH 1B03 (Linear Algebra) - summer course

Future: Math. Some form of further education, likely a Masters and PhD.

Other notes: Euchre!

Name: Katie

Hometown: Mississauga
High School: Toronto French School

First Year Res: Brandon, double room , 6th floor
Concentration: Med Rad Sci, minor in math

1st year electives: econ 1b03, lin alg 1b03

Future: ...

Other notes: I like playing frisbee

lol its actually nice to see different things from previous iSci.....aha I love Yohan's future plan XD ("do something epic")

Name: Judy Tsao
Hometown: North York
First year residence: Edwards 208 =)
Proposed concentration/minor: probably chemistry with a minor in math
First year elective:
FRENCH1K06: it's an intermediate french course for those who completed Gr. 11 but not Gr. 12 French. This course reviews all the basic French grammar and is fairly easy. I'd recommend it to anyone who has an interest in French but isn't confident at speaking or reading yet.
High school: Northview Heights Secondary School
Future: Not sure, but probably more school.
Other notes: iStudy= i(Don'tWantTo)Study