My first piece advice to prospective grad students would be to find a lab or an advisor that you mesh well with and are excited about working with. If you are on the same page and feel comfortable from the start, it makes all the difference. After that, trust yourself and your abilities! You are capable of more than you think.
Although I think most prospective grad students have been told about the importance of picking a study/project that interests you, I think it's also really important to take some time to see how you interact with your supervisor and lab. These will be the people you work the closest with for the next several years, and help provide support to you in some of your toughest moments.
I lived in Ridgetown as this is where my research was conducted. Although Ridgetown does not have much infrastructure in comparison to the City of Guelph, it has large acres of land for research in agriculture. I sometimes enjoyed a tour on the vast land with various research work going on. Personally, I think Ridgetown may be the town with the kindest people I have met, and I know the same is true for the City of Guelph.
Make sure your decisions are based on a meaningful purpose. The phrase “What you put in is what you get out” is what I return to repeatedly. It applies to you as a person, the work you do, and the food you make. You need purpose to make anything of consequence happen. It’s been over a decade since I made my first decisions to enter the field of food safety, and I’m even more committed to it today than I was then.
From my experience as an international student, I would request every prospective grad student to understand the core details offered by every course in the food safety and quality assurance program. I know every course is research-intensive and requires dedication and time management, but trust me, if you are passionate to establish yourself in the industry and want to ensure consistent delivery of safe food to the customers, you will develop a strong interest in the course. The application-level offered in the assignments is a reflection of how it is applied in an industrial setting and helps you crack the real-life hurdles faced in the rapidly growing industry and globalization. I would also suggest the prospective graduate students engage themselves in thoughtful conversations with their peers and develop a strong sense of food safety leadership to facilitate those conversations. It is also highly recommended to attend the food safety seminars provided by the department.
“My advisor has allowed me to grow as an independent researcher, and ensures I stay on track. I have had a wonderful experience growing into the student I am now. ”
Smart or slow, doesn't really matter in the end, the point is everyone has their own time zone, all you have to have is your own balance of work, play, and all other stuff, the others don't really matter.
I've been very privileged and lucky since coming to Guelph for my undergraduate degree back in 2010 as all of the opportunities I have been given have been gained through building strong relationships with faculty and staff on campus and finding mentors that have helped guide me along my career path. I've always found that the people on campus are incredibly giving and willing to devote their time to help out students. I've also found that simply starting with expressing an interest to be more involved and showing initiative can go a very long way to opening doors to new opportunities.
