Summer 2025

June 13, 2025

I am not your average engineering student, I am below 😂 (well at least right now).

I've heard it endlessly, "If you are not building projects and learning outside of school you stand no chance in this tech industry". Like many others, I told myself — this is my year, I'm going to be super focused, working on projects daily while balancing school work.

... You can guess what happened

So that left me with this Summer, which I call my "last chance". Not in a dramatic way, but because I genuinely believe it. If I want any chance of landing an internship the following semester, this is the time to build, to learn fast, and to finally put myself out there.

Western

A year has passed since committing to Western. No disrepect to Western Engineering but when I was ranking which program/school I wanted to attend on OUAC, Western was deadlast. I applied to many competitive programs in Canada unfortunately did not get many acceptances, including Waterloo. I've always had the fear of mediocrity and I simply thought that if I got into THAT program, my future would be brighter. The endless tech opportunities, the prestige — it all seemed like a guaranteed path.

Frankly, Waterloo accepts students they believe can succeed in their rigorous cirriculum — students who’ve already proven themselves. And I didn’t.

But lately, I’ve been questioning that whole idea. It’s not just the students that make Waterloo successful — it’s the environment. The constant exposure to tech. The way ambition is normalized, even expected.

Enough about Waterloo🍩🥇.

Maybe it is not as obvious but it does exist at Western. And that’s the part I struggled with because I wasn't putting myself out there joining those clubs, applying to the teams or attending those events.

So the theme of my summer is simple:
Taking intentional action to push past my comfort zone — and finally giving myself the chance to grow.

Next Steps

Continue creating projects with the intention to learn not complete. This is something I am struggling with. It is so convenient to just prompt AI to generate code and it takes discipline to search for understanding rather than just getting the feeling of fullfillment seen in the project progression.
Starting in July I have something lined up for 2 months(in Hong Kong). During these days it is most important for me minimize destructive habits(sleeping late, doomscrolling) and optimize time.
before summer: little knowledge of react, no idea what api & database, no dsa knowledge let's see how much growth happens 🦉

Note: Adjust your expectations accordingly. If you want to chat please contact me below!