Reflections from a graduate
Samantha Rancourt is known as a curious, dedicated, dependable student. She asks the right questions and exceeds in her classes. She graduated this week with her Bachelor of Kinesiology (Co-op.) Honours.
Like many graduates, Ms. Rancourt is reflecting during convocation on the years completing her degree; on what contributed to her success; and on what lessons are worth sharing with new students.
“When I started university I was preoccupied with trying to choose a career path and ensure it was the right choice for me. I switched many times throughout my first few years,” acknowledged Ms. Rancourt. “One piece of advice to students starting out would be that it doesn’t matter if it takes you extra time to figure out your career path. At the end of the day, what matters the most is that you find the path that suits you.”
Ms. Rancourt has always wanted to pursue a career in health care fields like medicine or physiotherapy, which are often highly competitive academic programs for admission. “For this reason, I strived to achieve high marks in order to reach my goal,” she said. “Knowing that a lack of success would limit my career options kept me motivated.”
Ms. Rancourt’s academic achievement has been a product of her hard work and dedication. She explained she’s had to put in extra effort to understand the content in textbooks and lectures and that she wasn’t the student who was always able to comprehend everything right away. However, through putting in extra effort, spending time with her professors to review course content, and consistently studying material, she’s exceled.
“Each of my professors has had a different influence, but collectively they have helped me develop confidence in my own skills and provided me guidance through every step of my degree,” explained Ms. Rancourt. “The professors in my faculty are extremely knowledgeable and willing to help. I don’t know where I’d be without their support.”
In addition to the support of her professors, another influential part of Ms. Rancourt’s university experience was her co-op placements. As part of her degree she had the opportunity to work for three semesters at locations including a physiotherapy clinic and research laboratory.
“These experiences not only shaped my career path, but also provided me with the skills I needed to excel. Additionally, I was able to build relationships that will undoubtedly impact my future success.”
She acknowledges there are always challenges along the way for new students, but she encourages them to know they’ll get through it. “Challenges are always daunting because they seem unmanageable at the time. However, throughout this degree I have learned that any challenge can be overcome.”
With her degree in hand, Ms. Rancourt currently has multiple acceptance offers from schools and is deciding where to pursue her masters in physiotherapy.