HEEELLOOOOOOOOOOOO WORLD! Whether you’re back from co-op, grinding classes for another four months or just started your next chapter at the University of Waterloo, it’s great to have you reading our first Fall 2026 issue! I am Jeremy, the Editor-in-Chief (EIC) for this term, and this is my second time as EIC after Winter 2026 (W26). I am starting my 3rd year of Chem Eng… and from what I’ve heard, the fun (which some of my classmates might instead qualify as pain) is about to ramp up.
For the first years reading this issue, a special welcome to you! We are the Iron Warrior, the Engineering student newspaper! We publish 3-4 issues every term, featuring articles or short stories from our amazing writing team; sudokus, crosswords and comics from our distractions team; quotes from our (beloved or despised) Engineering professors; and our infamous Iron Inquisition, where we ask students on campus some interesting questions. You can find our issues on stands across campus (mainly the Eng buildings, DC and DP), or on our website iwarrior.uwaterloo.ca. We will meet weekly in DWE 3520A (our main office) and/or online on our Discord channel on Mondays at 6:30pm; follow our Instagram account @theironwarrior_uw for our Linktree as well as updates on our meeting dates, contests and article releases throughout the term! We will also be at some club fairs (definitely the Engineering one on September 11th 2-5pm, and hopefully the WUSA one as well, but I can’t confirm this at the time of writing this article, so PLEASE CHECK OUR INSTAGRAM)! Come check out our booth to greet some of our members and learn more about us (as well as receive some cool swag)!
Your time here at UW will be filled with new people, amazing adventures and difficult (sometimes seemingly impossible) challenges, but my biggest hope is that you’ll have fun through it all. For a while now, I’ve been wanting to share some wisdom I’ve been accumulating from my two years here, so I’m going to share some quotes from some of my favourite media and how they have defined the way I approach schoolwork, co-op and my social life since starting university. I don’t expect you to follow my advice to the letter (even I don’t follow all of my advice), but I hope some of these tips may be useful to you!
“Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today.” – Master Wu, LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu
We’ll start right off the bat with the biggest piece of advice I have for any university student, especially first-years. As a student who went through first year, as well as a former First-Year Engineering Tutor who worked closely with first years, one of the biggest sources of stress I’ve noticed is waiting until the last minute to start assignments. The biggest favour you can do for yourself, right as you start university, is to get in the habit of starting assignments the day they come out, and to do a little bit of the assignment each day until the due date. In particular, I like to complete as much of the assignment as possible (usually the whole assignment) in one sitting the day it comes out, then spend the rest of the time until the due date checking my work with my friends and getting clarifications from professors.
As you’ll see VERY quickly as classes start, assignments questions can seem vague or like they lack details, which is why it is VERY IMPORTANT to reach out to your professors early to get things cleared up. I can’t tell you the sheer number of times in W26 I asked professors to clarify what they meant with some of their questions, or point out a mistake in the problem statement; by far the most notorious was a Physical Chemistry 1 question where the molar mass of an ideal gas was 6.5 kg/mol (if you know your chemistry, you’ll agree this is completely outrageous!!!), which I got fixed for my cohort (it was supposed to be 6.5 kg/kmol, which makes a lot more sense for an ideal gas).
Furthermore, if you were the type of student in high school who did fine starting assignments at the last minute (like I did), do not expect it to work here; assignments in university (especially Waterloo Eng) are not meant to be done within the last day or last hours before the due date. I’ve seen people cheat or rush assignments to get them done on time, and the results weren’t great, so PLEASE, give yourself time to complete your assignments to the best of your ability. One thing I do that helps me a lot is to have a calendar of the whole term, which during the first week of classes I fill out with ALL the deadlines (assignments, projects and exam dates, though you won’t get the date for your Finals until early October).
Of course, this advice doesn’t just apply to schoolwork: it also applies to studying for exams (you absolutely, DO NOT, want to study for an exam the day before; make a study plan of at least 2-3 days before the exam and follow it as best you can; for Reading Week and Hell Week especially, plan out what you’ll study and when for the whole weeks), and it especially applies to co-op applications. You DO NOT want to wait until the last minute to start applying for jobs (as someone who did that in Cycle 1 in 1A, I can tell you it didn’t end well). Start working on your resume today, check out and familiarize yourself with WaterlooWorks, and take time each day to apply to some jobs. I especially beg you not to wait until the last minute because quite a number of jobs require cover letters, and those can take quite some time to write and perfect.
(Fun fact: this advice directly contradicts one of the 10 Commandments in the O-Week Orientation Book!)
“Fear is the mind-killer.” – Frank Herbert, Dune
Along with one of my favourite Lego Ninjago quotes: “Fear? Fear is not a word where I come from!”, from Fritz Donnegan/Cliff Gordon, “Fear is the mind-killer” is one of my go-to quotes whenever I need to remind myself that fear only holds me back from my true potential.
The first few weeks of 1A are all about meeting new people, whether during O-Week events, or in residence, or anywhere on campus, and it’s okay to be nervous! Be yourself, be courageous by talking to new people and trying new things, and eventually you’ll find other people who share your interests. Making friends in uni is very important not just for surviving classes, but to find a community who will support you throughout this tough chapter of your life, and to have fun with.
When it comes to exams, especially your first midterms and finals, you will sooner or later be hit with a sense of dread. The most important thing for an exam, whether or not you’re ready, is to stay calm and believe in yourself. All you can do is give it your all; “Lose yourself!” (Eminem). To maximise your chances of remembering the things you need, you need a clear mind, which is not easy when you’re completely stressed out. Take a few deep breaths, encourage yourself, and start writing/typing with the intention of doing your best. You’ve worked too hard and fought too hard to give up now!
One other thing: do not be afraid of making mistakes. As you’ve probably heard multiple times before, mistakes are part of the learning process. Despite being someone who absolutely despises messing up, I can’t stress enough that I wouldn’t have become one of my cohort’s top academic weapons if it wasn’t for all the mistakes I made while solving assignments, or wouldn’t have gotten better at lab work if it wasn’t for the sheer number of samples or lab equipment I’ve accidentally ruined. Once you make a mistake, do not start out by crashing out for 5 minutes (like I sometimes do). Acknowledge the mistake, identify its root cause, and figure out something you can do to prevent it from happening again. (“The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” – Henry Ford). And while you can’t take back some mistakes, like those done on exams, there might be a chance you can make up for them (for example through bonus assignments or bonus points on the next exam!)
[After losing a battle] “I’m just preparing for victory!” – Bel Daizora, Beyblade Burst QuadDrive
Everybody has a “loss” at some point, but as Bel Daizora and Rocky Balboa agree (“It ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward.”), getting back up and trying again after a failure matters just as much as any success. Continuing the last point, failing an exam or making a mistake on an assignment or at work isn’t the end of the world; it’s a step towards growth and learning. Last term, I made more mistakes than ever before in a co-op job, and though every mistake made me feel like I was under a curse, rather than lament, I chose to analyze each mistake, figuring out how they happened and how I could prevent them from repeating. Learning from your mistakes and not letting them bring you down isn’t just a vital university skill; it’s a vital life skill. Whenever you’re feeling down from something not going your way, just remember to keep your head up, smile, and affirm to yourself and the world that this is just the first step towards your next Evolution. Learn from your mistake to prepare for your next challenge.
Ever since starting university, I’ve also heard and seen stories of people who failed some courses or the term. But again, it’s not the end of the world! You can try again the next term, or the year after, or switch programs; the University has options and resources for you to keep going despite major setbacks, most of which will be introduced in your seminar course (which contrary to popular opinion, I highly recommend attending: it’s better to know about on-campus resources early than to find out about them too late).
On another note, preparing for victory also requires knowing where to find effective help. My go-to recommendations are professors, TAs and First-Year Engineering Tutors (E2 1786) for questions on school work, course content, or exam prep; your classmates/friends for anything; and the Engineering Undergrad Office (E2 1772) for many different types of services including academic help and wellness support (or for asking where to find certain services).
“Everybody lies.” – Gregory House, House MD
In a series of motivational and wise quotes, I chose to include a more cynical one to reflect how I’ve felt about people this past year. I watched and re-watched House MD throughout first and second year, which eventually led to House’s worldview rubbing off on mine. Though it’s taken me a while to get out of his initial black-or-white lens of the world, House’s iconic quote is absolutely a reality of the world we live in: people (accidentally or intentionally) lie, make mistakes, give wrong information, and it can sometimes lead to bad decisions and mistakes that we come to regret or be mad about.
However, just because everybody is sooner or later going to lie about something or make a mistake, doesn’t mean no one can be trusted (House himself admits one time that “everybody doesn’t always lie”). My current interpretation of this line is to take some things you learn with a grain of salt; to question every thing that seems off to you, no matter how silly the question may seem (but don’t over-scrutinize everything, otherwise you’ll lose your sanity). In W26, I found a lot of mistakes in problem statements that I pointed out to my professors (which they gladly fixed, though it some cases it might take a while for a professor to realise their mistake); that attention to detail benefitted my entire class, as some of those problems would’ve made the assignments impossible. I’m not saying to question absolutely everything you learn or hear, but to never hesitate to ask questions if you’re unsure about something. If you’re not the type to ask questions, like I was in first year, a piece of advice from one of my 1A profs is to ask one of the people who usually ask questions in class to ask your question for you! Most of the time, you find out you’re not the only one asking yourself that question!
Another good point to come out of this quote is to find people you trust. You’re not going to find someone who’s absolutely perfect and never messes up, but at least you can count on them to be right most of the time. AI should not always be trusted. As someone who tried to rely on AI to check their answers for some assignments in 1A, I can tell you that more than 50% of the time, AI was wrong, or hyping up my wrong answer. (See my ChatGPT Can’t Save You article from Fall 2025 Issue 1; though in hindsight, I realise that AI’s accuracy depends on the type of question it needs to solve. Still, it isn’t worth the risk of Policy 71 violations.)
“You don’t get stronger by accepting how everyone else does things. You get stronger by finding your own path. That’s how champions are made.” – Free de la Hoya, Beyblade Burst Evolution
Beyblade is my all-time favourite show, but I actually don’t remember this quote; it showed up while I was doing some quick research (LOL!). Luckily, I think it brings up a very good point: not everyone’s path will be the same. Everyone will have different experiences with the same classes and everyone will go through different co-ops; it’s the series of things that happen to you and what you do about them that contribute to your growth as a future professional.
Explore and expand your hobbies and interests while you’re in university; it’s the best time to do it! University is partly about finding yourself and what you want; you don’t have to do the same things everybody else does at the same time they do it, even if it seems like you do. Right when I entered university, I knew I wanted to do things differently from my high school hermit life, but I quickly realised a lot of the things that we’re recommended didn’t seem that interesting to me. Rather than following everyone else into design teams or building projects, I took my time exploring what I liked: writing and acting. Despite barely doing any technical projects in first-year, I still managed to get 2 very fun co-ops (though not completely technical), and it’s in second year that I decided to focus more on my resume by participating in undergraduate research (URA) and trying (and failing) to join a design team (that’s a looooong story). Despite a lack of technical experience compared to my classmates, my non-technical experiences definitely contributed to landing quite a few interviews last winter and a good co-op in the field I might want to work in. Take risks and do what you think works best for you!
“Enjoy this World” – Cyberspace 3-6, Sonic Frontiers
The most recent message to live in my head rent-free, “Enjoy this World” can be interpreted in quite a number of ways, some arguably quite sinister if you think about it for too long. The key takeaway of these 3 words (and the whole Cyberspace 3-6 track) is to enjoy the moment, and there are quite a few things to enjoy here on campus and in Waterloo. There are plays, talent shows, concerts and residence events throughout the term to chill out, take a break and meet new people; a campus full of buildings to explore; PAC, CIF and intramurals for physical activity; and a lovely plaza full of wonderful food places to try out (I personally recommend Campus Pizza and iPotato). Waterloo itself, while not as entertaining as Toronto, still has some nice places to visit, like Uptown and the Farmers’ Market (especially the latter during summer). For those of you who prefer the other parts of the GTA, there are buses that you can take to go to Toronto or other cities (just make sure to be back in time for your exams or classes!). There are also a lot of ways to get involved on campus, whether joining a club, a design team or a society! You’re gonna be spending the next 4-5 years of your life going from school, to co-op, to school, to co-op, to school, to co-op… enjoy it while it lasts! You don’t get a redo of those exact experiences.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, there were a lot of quotes I wanted to include, but we don’t have the space for a 3000-word article for this issue, and this article is already 2800 words.
Still, I hope you had fun reading this article! Enjoy the rest of this newspaper/magazine, your Fall term, and be on the lookout for our next issues!
Jeremy Bijoux
Edit: We will be at the Eng Design Team Showcase! We will be on the second floor!