Approved for: $1,810.00

Presenting at the A4 symposium was a great opportunity to hear the thoughts of experts in alternatives assessment and many other disciplines. I received excellent feedback on my research: many people eagerly reached out to me with comments, suggestions, and support, excited to welcome an undergraduate student into their field. Aside from my own work, I was fortunate to listen to presentations on other topics undergoing alternatives assessment, ranging from AI to environmental justice.

Beyond the context of research, I also built a network of connections in the field of , alternatives assessment across industry, academia, and governmental organizations. Many conference attendees offered advice and expertise on future career paths and inspired me to continue with the work I’m doing as an undergraduate student. One pearl of wisdom that stood out, from a conference organizer, was a comment on what it means to be a scientist. Being a scientist, they said, is 50% doing science and 50% communicating it. The opportunity to attend the A4 conference was exactly that; I’m incredibly grateful to the SUS for facilitating my attendance through the Ambassador Fund.

Approved for: $1540.03

This was my first time attending a conference in person, especially one this caliber. It was, admittedly, overwhelming at first, but also very inspiring and informative. In addition to presenting my summer project, I got to see many posters and talks about my current area of interest (cultural psychology, specifically related to immigration and research with Indigenous communities). I met many other students and professors from all over the world, learned about their research, and shared projects and ideas. I exchanged contact information with several of them, which might lead to future collaborations.

For a while I have felt discouraged by research, stuck in a circle of running statistical analyses, writing literature reviews, losing the bigger picture, and as a result, my passion for science. This conference brought me out of this loop by showing me what science and research could be: a sharing of ideas, of knowledge, with so many different projects and thoughts in one space, all gathered to gain a better understanding of people and the world. I am extremely grateful for this opportunity, and I believe it allowed me to go above and beyond what a traditional bachelor’s degree can offer.

Approved for: $1371.39

This experience has been one of the highlights of my degree. Not only did I get to practice my academic presentation skills and network within the field of health research, but I have also returned to Montreal filled with inspiration and ideas for my future. I learned to improve my own communication skills by observing other oral and poster presentations, got inspiration for health-related careers through the keynote lectures, and made meaningful connections that I am sure will help me in my career and scholarly pursuits moving forward. In summary, Crossroads has left me with connections and changed my experience by inspiring me to think of the bigger picture in society when applying my education from McGill Science.

Approved for: $1993.36

Attending the largest geoscience conference in the world as an undergraduate was an incredible experience. I gained confidence in presenting my research to professionals and enthusiasts in environmental seismology during my oral presentation session on the first day of the conference. Following that, I attended another environmental seismology session and learned more about novel methodologies in the field. Additionally, I explored sessions in other fields on topics such as marine heat waves, cyclones on Jupiter, changes in earth system science and physical oceanography. I enjoyed hearing from the passionate scientists from a wide variety of fields. I even met a few other whale enthusiasts where I had the opportunity to network with and compare research findings! This experience changed my perspective as an undergraduate student by seeing firsthand how cooperative and collaborative the scientific community can be though the networking of people in interdisciplinary fields, the support and encouragement I experienced from graduate students and professionals.

Approved for: $1845.08

During the annual Society of Toxicology conference, I was exposed to not only academic science, but for the first time, I got to see the field of toxicology through an industry lens. I was exposed and saw world renown scientist give talks about novel research and emerging technologies within the field. I attended very interesting seminars that had nothing to do with the research I am currently doing to learn new techniques and meet new people. This experience was very eye opening, allowing me to understand how different types of research is done across the world. This experience also allowed to get used to presenting research via a poster presentation to many people for an entire afternoon. Overall, I had an amazing time learning and meeting likeminded individuals.