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SJU ARTS STUDENT PROFILE: STEFAN
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12 Feb, 2018
With the various majors, minors, and specializations that are offered, the potential to take courses in a variety of subjects of interest to you, and the development of skills that will assist you once you graduate, there are numerous reasons to pursue a degree in the Faculty of Arts at UWaterloo. The additional benefits offered to you as a co-registered student with St. Jerome’s University only add value to your university experience and your degree.
Life as an Arts student is different for everyone. With the freedom you are given to study what interests you, you can truly make the experience your own. Find out more about what life is really like as an Arts student, the reasons to pursue an Arts degree, and the options available to you by learning about a current SJU co-registered student!
For Stefan, a First Year Arts and Business Student who is co-registered with St. Jerome’s University, Arts has always been the clear choice.
Media Folder:
Tyler: As you’re only a first-year student and you don’t have to declare your major until after your first year, have you declared your major?
Stefan: I haven’t declared it yet, but I’m planning on declaring it to be Psychology because that’s been my main interest. Ever since I was in Grade 9, I’ve been fascinated with how people react based on their emotions and the environment that they’ve been in, and also how they develop their ego, their super-ego and their id.
So is that desire to study Psychology why you chose to apply to Arts?
Yeah, it is. I chose to apply to Arts and Business because I believe it’s also good to have a business background, and if I don’t choose to go into Psychology in the end then a background in business allows me to pursue a different career path; but I do plan on going into Psychology.
It sounds like you might have it all figured out; what do you want to do after you finish school?
I don’t really have everything planned out, but I do have an area that I want to go into. Obviously I want to go into psychology, but specifically, I want to go back to my hometown and work in the clinic there and try to help people. When one of my friends wanted to request an appointment with a psychologist they had to wait close to six months, so hopefully, by me going back there, I can help shorten that length of time for other people and give back to the community.
Where is your hometown?
Port Robinson, it’s a small community near Niagara Falls.
What’s the population of Port Robinson?
I usually say there are more dogs than people there. There are not many people in that small community.
How has your experience as a first year at St. Jerome’s been?
It’s actually been even better than I thought it would, just because I’ve been able to meet even more people than I expected. The community has been even more open and welcoming and accepting than I anticipated.
How much did you know about St. Jerome’s before coming here?
I didn’t know that much about it, I just knew the basic things. I didn’t really research it that much, but once I came here I was able to learn a lot more through being an Experience Guide (an SJU tour guide) and participating in all of the community events.
Why did you choose St. Jerome’s?
I mainly chose St. Jerome’s… because of the chocolate milk on tap; no I’m joking. It was because of the tour that I had. I didn’t know of St. Jerome’s beforehand, but my sister, who’s at UWaterloo as well, said that there’s one residence that you may want to look at and that you're able to co-register there. And that’s one of the big things [that made me choose St. Jerome’s], being able to co-register. The real selling point for me was the tour that I got from the Experience Guide who gave it to me, she really sold it for me. I loved how SJU was community-based, and that when I came here, it felt like a piece of my home was brought with me, just because of how welcoming it is and how the people are here.
I loved how SJU was community-based, and that when I came here, it felt like a piece of my home was brought with me
What’s your favourite part of being an Arts student?
My favourite part is just being able to learn what I want to learn, which for me is psychology and philosophy, so it’s the courses mostly.
Do you feel like throughout your degree you’ll mostly only take psychology courses, or will you try other subjects as well?
Actually, I plan on taking multiple languages. I’ve lived in a household where my father knew multiple languages, so I also think that it’s good for someone to know more than one language. For me, I want to learn German and Italian, and possibly Mandarin. I also plan on taking some sort of history because I’ve always been interested in medieval history as well.
How would you describe being an Arts student? What do you enjoy about it?
That’s a tough question… I guess it’s different for everybody because it’s opinionative, but I would say I get to be both a practical and theoretical thinker with courses in both Business and Arts, and co-op as well. I definitely enjoy the possibility of taking the courses that appeal to me. I’m allowed to take multiple courses in different subjects, as opposed to having a lot of required courses to take in one specific subject with little flexibility. As an Arts and Business student, I at least have 2 or 3 electives per term to take whatever I want to learn.
I’d recommend SJU for the community, as well as the amount of support that the community gives to you at the same time
Why would you recommend St. Jerome’s to any prospective students?
Why would I recommend St. Jerome’s… there’s a ton of things. But to summarize it, it might sound a little bit cheesy, but the main selling point for me to come here was the community aspect. I wanted to be a part of the community because back in my hometown I was always a part of the community, especially by helping out at the library. Also, the multiple services that were available to me at St. Jerome’s where I have, via the Student Services Link at SJU as well as academic advisors on main campus, double the options for support. Basically, I’d recommend SJU for the community, as well as the amount of support that the community gives to you at the same time, through the dons, academic advisors, and other student leaders.■
*This interview has been condensed and partially edited for clarity and conciseness*