Welcome to Waterloo! My name is Angelo Alaimo, and I was the Editor-in-Chief of this newspaper for the past four months. The second page of this newspaper is always reserved for letters from/to the editor but don’t let this wall of text intimidate you – I can assure you it’s full of useful and interesting information.
This newspaper is completely put together by undergraduate volunteers of the Engineering Society, and for this issue is completely focused on Frosh Week. Usually, the newspaper covers campus news, events, engineering topics, engineering society news, and much, much more. You’ll see it pop up on our racks around the engineering buildings 5 times every term throughout your career here at waterloo. If you want to read more about the paper and how to get involved, check out our teams blurb on page 17.
To read past issues, check us out online at http://iwarrior.uwaterloo.ca and we even have twitter @theironwarrior!
Now, you’ve decided to come to Waterloo for a number of reasons, one of which I’m sure is reputation or even the Co-op program. To be honest, I grew up out west and never heard of Waterloo or what it was about until I got accepted to begin my studies in September 2006. Once I was accepted, people told me it was difficult to get into the university and that they had this excellent engineering and co-op program. I investigated further and liked what the University was about, so I accepted and looked forward to the following September. Since I lived on the west coast, I never had the opportunity to see the campus before coming the weekend before frosh week.
You know how people always say first impressions count the most? Well, once I arrived, my first impression with Waterloo was that I did not like it. In fact, I hate, hate, hated it.
I had a rough first year, perhaps due to my not so great first impression of the University. A lot of people have, and will have rough first year’s at University. It’s a huge change for many, and for me, it was a massive change of many orders of magnitude.
Not being able to do the same activities I was used back home at Waterloo was one of the reasons I hated my first year. My studies consumed almost every second of free time available and I simply could not spend time on things I loved.
As I said, it was a huge change. It took time for me to adjust, and I eventually did find the time for activities. It took time, but I found a balance, and from that I was able to get involved. I started helping out with The Iron Warrior in my 2A term, and have loved it ever since!
Looking back at my first year, I wasted a lot of time not getting involved with anything at the University. Perhaps I was just too busy with school / not trying to fail, but there really is so much to do!
On the engineering side, we have many student teams just waiting to get some fresh minds to help out, and if those teams don’t fit what you fancy, the Federation of Students has dozen more clubs to get involved with.
One of the best parts of being involved with teams/clubs/whatever is that you’re with like-minded people. It’s great to be with others that think the same way as you do and rest assured these people will eventually become good friends of yours.
Good luck in your studies and don’t forget to Work Hard and Play Harder!
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