Class of 2022: Their Next Adventures

Mia has known she wanted to study in Europe since she was 10 years old. “I used to live in London and loved the rich art history and culture that surrounded me that you just can't get in Toronto,” Mia says. “If there's anywhere in the world to go to study art and design, Europe is the place.” She is currently deciding between University of the Arts London and Milan’s Nuova Accademia di Belle Arti, both top art and design schools.

The European application process is quite different from those required for Canadian and US schools; Mia’s guidance counsellor connected her to outside resources as needed to help her complete her applications. As a visual arts student, Mia also put considerable time and effort into preparing her portfolio to accompany those applications.

Mia is most looking forward to surrounding herself with like-minded creatives in the fall while pursuing one of her passions. “I have really enjoyed studying Media Arts at Greenwood, with incredible resources, and being able to have all my classes revolve around art and design is incredibly exciting,” Mia says. “In addition, both schools’ programs offer collaborations with companies in the industry, so I'm excited to get to thoroughly understand how graphic design plays into the professional world.”

While she doesn’t yet have a clear vision of where she wants to go with her career, Mia sees lots of travel in her future. “I want to experience the different facets of design around the world,” she says.

Alexa’s top two postsecondary school choices were Queen’s University and McGill University, both for some form of engineering. “I chose Queen's because I thought that I would enjoy the program more,” she says. Unlike many other schools, “the first year of engineering is a general year, so I can pick a branch in my second year after having some experience with all fields.” Alexa is currently considering Biomedical Engineering as her branch of choice, but she likes that her path remains open should she find a new interest over the course of her first year.

Alexa’s guidance counsellor, Wendy Herod, shared with Alexa that she knows many Greenwood grads who really enjoyed their time at Queen’s Engineering (and Greenwood teachers as well - “Shoutout to Ms. Seaborn!” Alexa says). Knowing that so many alumni have had a good experience there significantly increased her interest in the school.

Alexa has always loved science (specifically biology) and math, and engineering fits perfectly with those passions. “I’m really excited to take my interests and learn how to apply them to the real world and create solutions to problems,” Alexa says. “I’m also looking forward to meeting people with similar interests in my program, as well as people in other programs!”

At the moment, Alexa thinks she wants to work in a lab designing, building and researching new medical technologies and medications, reflecting her interest in Biomedical Engineering. She is excited to see what her first year at Queen’s brings!