| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | My most memorable childhood experience was visiting my dad’s family during the summer and enjoying the natural beauty of the area. The clean country air in the foothills was a nice change from the urban area that I was accustomed to, and this area presented ample opportunities to thoroughly enjoy the outdoors. It was also special as a child to experience a different country/culture and being able to feel unique amongst my peers. To this day, I am still awestruck by the serene mountains and turquoise lakes. Also, during one of my many trips up north, I was able to walk on a glacier at the Columbia Icefield in Jasper which was and still is pretty cool. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | I most closely identify with my dad as we both share a strong work ethic, are goal oriented, and find humor in everyday things in life. In particular, the strong work ethic instilled in me by my dad has served me well in every endeavor I have ever undertaken and has helped me achieve numerous goals. For example, throughout my time in school or organized sports as a child, I was generally overlooked and never praised as being “the guy”. However, over time, my work ethic enabled me to surpass other people’s expectations as well as my own. Basically, it has cemented the notion that I can accomplish anything that I set my mind to; if I put the time and effort into something, it is achievable. Similarly, finding humor and levity in everyday and sometimes mundane situations as well as focusing only on the things you can control has benefited me immensely, especially in group projects and social situations. These traits coupled with the strong work ethic are a nice balance and are a good way to approach life. While it is good to work hard, do not take yourself too seriously and do not worry about things that are out of your control. My dad has passed on the traits that I consider to be my greatest assets, and these are traits I hope to pass on to my own children one day. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | I most admire strong work ethic, respectfulness, discipline, open-mindedness, optimism, humility, responsibility, integrity, and humor. A strong work ethic combined with discipline and responsibility will enable one to most often have success in any endeavor that they undertake. Although it is great to work hard and be goal-orientated, this must be balanced with being respectful to others, maintaining integrity, and practicing humility, that is acknowledging you are not infallible and must continue to grow. A great quote that supports this idea is “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world if he loses his own soul”; similarly, doing what is right even when it may be difficult, unpopular, or unnoticed is critical in being respectful to others but also in being respectful to yourself. In addition, I also stressed open-mindedness as a desirable trait because in order to grow and innovate one must keep an open mind to new ideas, strategies, and theories. Humor varies from person to person, but I find that it is good to not take things seriously all the time and that a bit of levity can bring joy to the mundane. Finally, I feel being optimistic and positive, in general, is a good approach to life, especially when situations arise that are rather bleak. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | Not sure if this was the funniest thing that happened to me, but the following is a particularly amusing anecdote. To provide some context, once you complete your undergraduate degree in engineering and begin your career, you can elect to become a professionally licensed engineer in your state/region. One of the requirements is to take the Fundamentals of Engineering (FE) Exam which young engineers usually take towards the end of their undergraduate studies or within a few years of graduating. Anyway, one of my bosses used to send out a weekly FE Exam question to the engineers since we had a lot of new, young hires. Later on, he would always end the message with any format that is acceptable for answer submissions as after he sent out the first question, he received answers on pieces of paper, post-it notes, and index cards as well as through email. Well, since he had said any format was acceptable, I wanted to test the validity of this statement, so when the next question was released, I went into action. To start, I solved the problem on paper during work and then after work that day, I stopped off at the grocery store and picked up a plain (non-decorated) cookie cake and icing tube. That evening, I used the icing to spell out the answer that I had determined earlier on the cookie cake, and the next morning, I snuck the cake into the office and hand-delivered it onto my boss’s desk unseen. When my boss returned to his office, he was surprised to see the cake on his desk, and he walked down to our cubicles, amused, to see who turned in the answer this way. It is important to mention that I had not told anyone else about my answer format yet, so this was new information for those sitting around me as well. After some laughs and general confusion about who would turn in the answer this way, I revealed that it was I who devised this answer on the cake gambit and stressed that the email said any format was acceptable. To bring this story to an end, it was well-received and then we cut the cake into pieces and ate them around 8 AM that morning. I found this funny as it took something typically mundane and made it a bit more engaging and entertaining. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | Besides traveling to southern Alberta to bask in the stunning natural beauty of Calgary, Canmore, and Banff, I would like to travel to Europe to the see the wonders of the “Old World” that created and inspired our Western culture today as well as the picturesque natural landscapes. Seeing Europe is a tall order, so travel would have to be split into multiple trips focusing on specific regions. The UK, France, and Switzerland would be one such trip. The UK portion would offer personal significance as I would be interested in traversing the land that my ancestors once inhabited, primarily in Scotland and Ireland. France, of course, means visiting Paris to see the Eiffel tower (which was built for the 1889 World’s Fair) and to view some art at the Louvre. While venturing further south to Switzerland, there would be a brief stop to see the palace at Versailles. Switzerland would present glorious vistas of the Alps and alpine meadows and plenty of opportunities to hike within these vivid sceneries. Moreover, Italy and Greece could be grouped together or be visited separately due to the cultural significance and outdoor activities. Besides Rome and Athens, I also would be excited to visit Florence, Italy as it was the birthplace of the Renaissance. Scandinavia (Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) and Central/Eastern Europe (Germany, Austria, Czech Republic, Belgium, and Poland) would conclude this jaunt through Europe. Similar to Switzerland, Scandinavia offers spectacular natural beauty and picturesque landscapes while Central Europe would offer cultural and personal significance as my mother’s family comes from the Czech Republic and Poland. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | I would like to pass on to them the culture/traditions of our ancestors and the knowledge that comes from living, that is having experienced the world and having learned lessons the hard way. I feel it is important to carry on traditions and letting my children experience our culture will help them to understand how far our family has come and will also assist them in developing part of their identity. Within this line of thinking, my children will come to expect and ultimately demand that pure, Grade A maple syrup from Southern Ontario or Quebec be used for all pancakes and related breakfast items that they eat or serve to others. Regarding both culture and knowledge, I hope to pass on a strong moral ethic to my children as having integrity and respect for themselves and others is important, particularly in a world where things are not always black and white but are more often shades of gray. As our time is limited, I also hope I can pass on a variety of general knowledge to help them avoid time sinks and unnecessary tribulations, thereby allowing more time to pursue their passions and to make their own mistakes. |
