Start by picking a path
MRU student realizes his passion for chemistry enables many career options
Encouraging academic advisors at MRU were key to Calum Boisvert choosing Mount Royal over other universities and persisting after a first year where he struggled personally and emotionally.
Third year Bachelor of Science — Chemistry student Calum Boisvert is pretty sure most high school students have no idea what they want to study when they apply to university. That’s where he was when he first spoke to an academic advisor at Mount Royal who assured him there was a path to help him discover his passion.
Encouraging academic advisors at MRU were key to Boisvert choosing Mount Royal over other universities and persisting after a first year where he struggled personally and emotionally.
“I wasn’t made to feel like a failure or a reject, rather I was actually encouraged to keep trying, and that I would find my footing in this if I still wanted to.’
Along with great advice, Boisvert also said Mount Royal’s smaller community, flexible pathways and many minors helped him persist.
As a matter of fact, it was around this time that he received news that there was a brand new chemistry minor. “As a kid, I was inspired by science and whenever I was asked what I wanted to be I’d say a scientist.”
Over time Boisvert had begun to believe he wasn’t the right kind of person to be a scientist, but MRU instructors Ganesh Bhandari, PhD and Tabussom Quereshi, PhD helped change his self-assessment to a point that he applied to the chemistry program. His trajectory turned.
"When you’re young you only know so many career paths. See what the world has to offer. Figure out a range of things you want to do and a few different pathways to get there."Calum Boisvert
“So, after a difficult first year, which challenged me to grow, I took a risk, applied for the new chemistry program, started on a completely different academic direction and finished my second academic year to earn my way onto the President’s Honour Roll.”
Boisvert is generous in giving credit to Mount Royal too. He appreciates that professors know you by your name, that fellow students are more collegial than competitive and that courses aren’t presented formulaically so students understand the concepts, acquire a breadth of knowledge and get skills to be successful.
It’s been exciting for Boisvert to learn how chemistry can be applied outside of the stereotype of a chemist in a laboratory with test tubes and bunsen burners.
“I really like the study of matter and its change. Because it's so broad you can explore concepts that take your education somewhere else.”
This is exactly what Boisvert plans to do, pursuing postgraduate studies in chemistry and doing research in the private sector or academia. He is pleased to have many options.
Asked what he would advise other high school students going into post-secondary education, Boisvert explains, “When you’re young you only know so many career paths. See what the world has to offer. Figure out a range of things you want to do and a few different pathways to get there. Pick a path not a degree or a specific job.”
May. 26, 2020