Author: Michelle Bonsu

Second Year, Psychology and Criminology

“What’s something that people often tell you?”

“That I smile too much.”

Third Year, Environmental Management and Biology

“[I like] hiking, bike riding, enjoying the summer, enjoying all seasons…”

“Any special places you’ve hiked and you’ve been in?”

“Believe it or not… I have to say Erindale Park. It was one of the most inspiring places because it’s close and convenient, and just the views are really breathtaking… Really spectacular views so it’s just a good place to find yourself. I’ve been to a lot of places like the Grand Canyon. They all have the same level of invoking the human spirit. I love it.”

“Any dream places you want to go to?”

“I’ve always wanted to go to Brazil, to the Amazon forest. I can’t even put it into words. It’s just incredible like for anyone who’s into biology…It’s just amazing to see all the stuff going on there. I’d love to go there.”

Second Year, Major in Philosophy, Minor in English and Italian

“Do you remember the time when you were most surprised?”

“Right on top of my head…today. Today in the Student Centre, I was talking to someone and she said, ‘Oh, you guys remember that post on Spotted that got like 800 likes?’ She was talking about it. It was my post. Spotted posted ‘Would UTM refund your money if you die?’ So here’s the thing: you have to declare your absence on ROSI first. She brought (the post) up and it’s been like a month. I was like ‘How do you remember that?’”

Second Year, Life Science

“What made you choose Life Science?”

“Uh… I don’t know. My parents?” [laughs]

“Are you actually interested in it?”

“I’m more interested in Psychology. I’m hoping to make it my major.”

Fourth Year, Finance

“How’s your experience at UTM?”

“It’s a loving community. You make a lot of friends and everyone’s nice. Other than studying, you get to hang out and play.”

Exchange Student, Fourth Year, Biology

“In Brazil, I had the experience to work with fishes. We travel and collect fishes from all around Brazil and then go to the lab and examine and catalogue fishes. It’s a great experience because I had the opportunity to see this ‘field’ part of the job. It was exciting because (I get to) travel. The last trip that I went to for research was two weeks in a van. A road trip. We stopped at many amazing places. A lot of the places we needed to go to were secret and hidden. It was an amazing experience.”

First Year, Criminology

“I like to practice martial arts. I do karate.”

“What do you like about it?”

“I like the values you learn from it… the discipline you learn from it.”

“Is it something you’ve been doing since you were young?”

“I’ve been doing it for ten years now. I just received my black belt.”

Third Year, Speciality in Criminology, Minor in History

“What are you passionate about?”

“Probably spreading awareness of what’s going on around the world. I feel like at UTM, people are stuck in a bubble…If you read what’s going on around the world, like in Ukraine or Venezuela or other places in the world, people aren’t doing well because their country is oppressing them. People are not aware that they have so many rights here, while in other countries that’s being taken away from them.”

First Year, Life Sciences + Psychology

“Something I’m proud of is being able to get into university because I come from an international background. UTM is really hard with choosing international students. My probability of actually getting here was very low and I had to do a lot of different tests just to show the university that I’m good enough. And I was able to so I’m really proud of that.”

First Year, Economics

“Anything that stood out to you in UTM?”

“The deer. [laughs] I just saw a deer out my window.”