***Includes Photos***
Hello one and all!
We would like to welcome Dave Holborn and Stephanie Koltun, who were recently chosen as the HighArchs, to the team!! Both of them will make a fantastic addition to the team, and will bring lots of laughs and new ideas to the table.
Thank you everyone on A-Soc who applied for a leader position this term. All your applications were fantastic, not to mention hilarious! We’d also like to thank those who came out for interviews this past weekend. We really appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedules to be with us! Just a reminder that phase two of the application process will be made available early January for those who have already applied.
If, for some reason, you were preoccupied last week and forgot to fill out an application, don’t fret! Applications will reopen in the winter term for B-Soc students, at which time you also can apply. We will send out an email in January with more information, so keep an eye on your inboxes. If you are still on the fence about applying for a leader, then listen up! Orientation Week is far more fun as a leader than it is as a first-year; just ask all of the returning leaders! Being a leader means you will take an active role in ensuring all first-years coming into UW feel like they really belong here, that they feel proud to be UW Engineers, and feel safe no matter who they are. This alone is a profound reason why many students choose to be leaders year after year.
Rest assured, it has been confirmed: Orientation Week 2011 will remain a full week! As such, we would like to say that we are all super stoked to begin this epic journey. We all have a very strong passion for the success of Orientation Week, and will make it our goal to ensure the week runs as smoothly and as super awesome as it can!
If you want to learn a little more about Orientation Week 2011, check out the leader webpage at www.engineering.uwaterloo.ca/~foc/. If you need to contact us at any time, feel free to email us at engfoc11@gmail.com.
Hope all is well,
Your EngFOC 2011:
Andrew Fisher, James Servos, Michael Raymer, Umesh Thillaivasan, Dave Holborn and Stephanie Koltun!
ANDREW FISHER
I was born while driving fast………..like really, really fast. As I grew up I decided that I needed to travel the world looking for other fast things.
I transformed into a jet fighter and started my journey.
I started at the Bonneville Salt Flats and realized that the coefficient of friction between salt and rubber is too large to really get going.
I then traveled to France in the blink of an eye (told you I was fast) but found out that they still haven’t made particles big enough for me to ride down the tube.
I got tired and decided that I would go watch a Red Wings game and suspend my search for a bit, and that’s where it hit me. I could go to the University of Waterloo and design roadways and pipes and other things that let things move fast.
So I started the arduous trip to Waterloo. For a speed demon like me the construction on Highway 8 is like spending an hour in the dentist’s room. When I got here they taught me to slow down and enjoy the scenery but once a year I still get all rev’d up and zoom around. That is Orientation Week and it seems that everyone shares this time with me for getting super stoked and flying around like ducks on espresso. I look forward to zooming around with each and every one of you as one of EngFOC ’11 and remember it could be a bird or a plane or it could just be me flying around!!!!!!!!! (but it’s probably just a goose)
INSERT PHOTO HERE
JAMES SERVOS
James is a man of mystery. Where did he come from, what does he eat, why is he so gorgeous?!
To say it frankly, James is from the future. Born in the year 3031, he grew up with a loving family of robotic parents and a dog named Wilson. However, he stands by the fact that he is NOT a robot.
Growing up, he realized he needed to fulfill his need to experience a real Orientation Week. By the year 3031, all frosh weeks had been shortened to 3 hours so they were not much fun anymore. Deciding to take life into his own hands, he built a time machine to take him back in time to the year 1996. This was a rebellious year for James; when he saw wet floor signs he walked faster. However, he got distracted by peaches; giant peaches in fact; and ended up living in one until the year 2010.
By this time, his rebellious side had vanished, and he felt he could make a difference by attending the University of Waterloo. Since he is NOT a robot, he decided to become the captain of the UW Robotics Team. At this point, he also developed a love for sailing.
However, this wasn’t enough for James, no way. He decided that he could do more by helping others fulfill their needs for a fantastic Orientation Week. This of course requires you to NOT be a robot, which James is NOT, so he now represents UW Engineering as one of your marvellous FOC for 2011!!!!
INSERT PHOTO HERE
MIKE RAYMER
So I’ve been hearing this question being whispered around POETS: “Who is Michael Raymer?” I have to admit, I was quite surprised by this question. The answer, is right there, on my Facebook page, but look, I don’t want to be coy about this, we’re a couple months from Engineering Orientation Week 2011 and we’ll be working quite intimately with one another on the long journey ahead of us, so if anyone feels that they don’t know me just yet, let me try and give you some answers.
Who is Michael ‘Mike’ Raymer?
Contrary to the rumours you may have heard, I was not born in a manger; I was actually born on the planet Krypton and sent here by my father Jor-El to save the planet Earth. Many of you know that I got my name, Michael, from my mother and father, but what you may not know is ‘Michael’ is Elvish for “Rigid Tool Fanboy.” True story.
If I had to name my greatest strength, I would have to say my humility. Greatest weakness? It is possible that I am a little too awesome. One more thing, I have never, not once, put lipstick on a pig, or pit-bull, or myself. That last one is one up on my Co-EngFOC if anyone’s keeping count…Anyways, that’s who I really am, and in the spirit of full disclosure, there are a few surprises that you’ll be finding out as we venture down this unforgettable path together.
On a more serious note, the fact that each year, in the weeks nearing the Orientation Week at Waterloo, students of all persuasions can come together and honour the work of one another really underscores the reality that no matter what differences or divisions or arguments we’re having right now, we ultimately belong to something bigger, something more lasting than an Orientation Week. We belong to a society, we share a community, and we are all students of Waterloo Engineering and the University of Waterloo, and with that I am both honoured and humbled to embark up on this quest with you, my friends.
INSERT PHOTO HERE
UMESH THILLAIVASAN
The story of Umesh Thillaivasan is a long and perilous one… kinda like his last name. But seriously we begin our tale in the cold dark of the Atlantic Ocean where a lonely Atlantic cod was swimming. This particular cod was special for he was much smarter than all his cod friends. So one day he decided he wanted more in life than just swimming around and eating tasty Cod food type things. So off he went on an adventure, seeking the grand University of Waterloo which all the fish said must be wet with all that Water. So off went the cod, down the St. Laurence, across Lake Ontario… got puzzled at Niagara Falls with all the fish heading to Laurier trying to swim up the falls, so the cod just went up the Wellend Canal instead… but finally reached the Grand River and stopped to snack on a yummy worm, when BAM! He got a hook to the face region! But the fisherman being the kind and caring man that he is did not eat Mr. Cod, so he took him home and made him his pet. Mr. Cod lived out the rest of his days content to be fed delicious fishy foods and watch the strange monkey people inside the tank filled with air they were living in. He realized his captor was a very interesting man who was studying Mechanical Engineering and was actually a really awesome guy. His name… Umesh Thillaivasan. (Did you really think Umesh was a fish? Come on guys, let’s get super serial he’s not THAT slimy)
But what he is, is one of your amazing FOC for 2011 so when you see him say hi and ask him about his Mr. Cod.
INSERT PHOTO HERE
DAVE HOLBORN
Who is Dave Holborn? Komodo-dragon-wrestling grand champion? Norse god? Leader of the free world? First self-aware humanoid robot? Final boss of the internet? In fact, he is all of these things, but most importantly, he is a HierArch! You may ask him in various Scandinavian dialects, or binary-code, why he became an Orientation leader? He would answer you himself if he was not knee deep in komodo dragons, furiously battling the global recession with only a stale tuna sandwich and a single glorious strand of hair plucked from Mr. T’s frohawk in 1987. Rest assured, friends, I have every intention of answering your question. Quite simply: Dave Holborn cares. Not only is he the first self-aware humanoid robot, but he is also the first machine to shed a patriotic tear. His 8 trillion Quibit Cores were overwhelmed with pride and happiness when he was chosen to lead the University of Waterloo’s heroic Orientation Week. You can all sleep soundly knowing that Architecture Orientation is in the komodo-dragon-strangling, mjolnir-weilding, declaration-of-universal-peace-signing, robotic hands of Dave Holborn.
INSERT PHOTO HERE
STEPHANIE KOLTUN
I’m sure you’re wondering, “Who is Steph Koltun?” She’s average height, average weight, blonde-ish hair…nothing special unless you count the dazzling smile, sharp wit, soulful eyes, passion great enough to move mountains and an understanding of the human condition that could melt the iciest heart. She used to spend her summers training a circus of kangaroos. Or was it leading campers through a summer adventure? Now she spends her time teaching pigs to fly so one day she’ll be able to win every absurd challenge. Flying pig bacon is also delicious. Rest assured, because Steph has the ability to communicate with dolphins, so in the case of oceanic-animal induced apocalypse, all is good. She lives with her mom and drives a mini-van. Also, Steph invented the colours black and gold, so when you see her zipping around as ArchFOC ’11, shout out a “Thank You” and you’ll be sure to receive a “You’re welcome!”
INSERT PHOTO HERE
Leave a Reply