Emily De Sousa - Edit 2

My parents were the ones that gave me the push to go to University. They had never attended University or College. My dad is actually a high school drop out so the idea of going to University was a big deal in my family. In 2016, I decided to get scuba certified. I did it and it completed changed my life. Being able to, you know, see environmental destruction happening below the surface was just completely mind-blowing and just changed the entire trajectory of my life. I had just found out that I had gotten into a fields course placement where I was going to be able to have the opportunity to travel to Nova Scotia with a few students in my department but the trip came with a pretty big price tag and I was trying to figure out how I was going to be able to pay for this trip on top of my semester tuition. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to afford it or be able to go. That was really scary for me because I found my passion, I figured out what I wanted to do but I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make it happen. The day that I found out I got the scholarships was mind-blowing. As I was on my laptop going through all these budget spreadsheets I had an e-mail come in from the college of social and applied human sciences saying that I had received a scholarship and I was freaking out then all of a sudden another one pinged right after it and then another one right after it and I was so excited and I was, like, screaming and I was really happy. This research opportunity really opened my eyes to the possibilities of academia because I wanted to work on real world problems and apply my knowledge, so having the opportunity to do that really showed me what was possible through academia and the fields course actually inspired me to apply for a masters degree at Guelph so I could continue on the research that I had the opportunity to do on the fields course. To not have to deal with financial stress on top of everything else was just a huge weight off my shoulders and yeah, I can't even put it into words how thankful I was to not have to worry about money for a semester for my final year. Knowing the faculty and staff support student scholarships makes me really proud to be a part of the Guelph community.