The Robotics co-curricular was back in person this fall and the girls began the year training new members and planning and executing some of their fall events.
Some of the traditional events, like STEM Day, were run in-person while other events like Engineering Career Night, Drop IN Coding and Business Brunch continued online due to the current situation. This club that started with just 2 students a few years ago, now has over 50 members and continues to attract new ones each year.
STEM DAY
On Friday 26 November, HNMCS’ 5th annual STEM Day occurred where grades 5-12 participated in STEM related activities. Grade 5s made bouncy balls, grade 6s built balloon cars, grade 7s created paper circuit Christmas cards, and the grade 8s participated in the CEMC computer workshop. For senior school, the grade 9s made ice cream, the grade 10s created a Tinkercad 3D design, the grade 11s completed a heart rate and blood pressure activity and finally the grade 12s listened to a York University Women in White Coats Presentation on STEM in University. Each of these activities exposed the girls to different aspects of STEM and women in STEM.
ENGINEERING CAREER NIGHT
Engineering Career Night is a great opportunity for students to meet with recent graduates and experts in the engineering field to learn about their education, work, career, and their experience.
This year, we invited Tanya Parrag, a chemical engineer, Kim von Eicken, a civil engineer, Darian Petrisca, an environmental engineer, Hilbert Li, a manufacturing engineer, and James Edgar, an algorithm engineer.
The students learned about how engineering prepared them for life long learning and adaptability, opened new possibilities and prepared them to tackle big challenges. They shared their insight on what the engineering field would look like in the future, and the fruits of their labour. Lastly, they also gave insight on opportunities that could be taken and practical benefits of different programs.
Engineering Career Night was a good experience, and it was inspiring to see people who were also interested in robotics
BUSINESS BRUNCH
The fourth annual business brunch was a huge success where HNMCS Robotics in collaboration with Orbit Robotics hosted over 40 youth from grades 7 to 12 on Saturday 27 November, 2021. Business Brunch is an interactive event where graduates with connections to business careers speak with students to discuss their unique pathways to a career in business. This year, we had five speakers from a diverse range of backgrounds and universities. In addition to relating their academic journey, all speakers stressed the importance of networking by participating in non-academic activities in order to develop connections and create opportunities in the future.
Katelyn Kozma is currently finishing her Ph.D. at the university of Toronto in cancer genetics and will be transitioning into a Management Consulting Role at Bain & Company in 2022. She encouraged students to diversify their skills as an undergraduate in order to create opportunities.
Jessica Kuruvilla is currently working for the Department of Management at the University of Toronto, Mississauga. She talked about the demand of people in finance and commerce in “new roles” of AI and science.
Maddy Beaudry who graduated from Queens Commerce and will be practicing corporate law at Torys LLP in Toronto after completing her law degree at Osgoode Hall Law School believes that, “a business degree is a launchpad for whatever you want to do afterwards.” She said, “My business degree set me up for law school”, as the case-study based learning was a good experience for law school where you take rulings and apply them to current cases.
Kevin McKenna, who is currently a Senior Accountant who graduated from the University of Toronto, reassured students that, “working is an extension of school” as, “you are not expected to have all the answers when you start” working but will be trained on the job.
Dorothy St.George, who is the director of Economic Development and Corporate Strategy at the Town of Oakville, described the possible range of career paths with a business, commerce degree.
DROPIN CODING
Over the span of three weeks, every Saturday youth were able to learn and create projects on a program called Scratch. Scratch is a high-level block-based website-based visual programming language targeted at children ages 8-16 years old.
Youth from Holy Name of Mary College school and the greater Toronto area were able to participate in this Robotics Event. From making an account to creating an innovative game, all participants were able to expand their learning skills and most importantly have fun. Attendees had the opportunity to share their ideas, thoughts and projects which created a safe and inclusive environment for all. Both the leaders and students enjoyed this event giving positive feedback and smiling faces.