As the 2024 camp season comes to a close, five of Virtual Ventures’ Junior Instructors are embarking on their academic journey at Carleton University! This summer we had a team of 30 current Carleton undergraduate students. We took the opportunity to ask these Junior Instructors about their choice to attend Carleton, and how their experience at VV this summer with fellow Carleton students has shaped their perspectives as they enter the school year!
Mia W
Mia W is back at VV this summer as a Junior Instructor, once again leading Engineering Jr! Last summer, Mia explored her interests in Architecture and Industrial Design programs at Carleton. This year, Mia was accepted into the Architecture program!
“I took an Imagine Architecture Program at Carleton, which is a summer program where you go for 3 weeks, and you experience what it’s like to be a Carleton student. You get to do fun studio projects, and we learned about multimedia in a Carleton facility which was really cool. I knew I really liked Carleton’s Architecture program. It was a no brainer when I was applying to university. Carleton Architecture was my top program and school I wanted to go into even though there are a lot of other architecture schools. I knew just from going to that summer camp I wanted to go to Carleton.”
Mia worked with Rory, Alex, and Julie in Engineering Jr this summer. Rory and Alex are in their second and third year in Engineering at Carleton. When asked about memorable experiences at VV this summer, Mia mentioned her coworkers’ insights and guidance she received.
“Just working with everybody at Carleton, a lot of the VV staff are from Carleton. So just from talking to them and learning from their experiences I was really interested in the community Carleton has, and from what they described, it sounds super welcoming, fun, and inclusive.”
Brianna
This is Brianna’s first year as a Junior Instructor at VV, working with Engineering Sr and Nybbles. Their fellow instructors—Alexis, Reid, Scott, and Sam—are upper year students of various Engineering programs at Carleton. We’re thrilled to share that Brianna has been accepted into the Mechanical Engineering program here at Carleton!
“I personally love working here at VV, it’s an amazing experience. It’s also perfect cause you get to see all your classes, and you get to talk to people who have been to Carleton. You understand how the Carleton spirit works, and you also get to understand how Carleton works as a whole. You also get a lot of advice about where your classes are, what kind of professors you like, what kind of things you should try really hard on, and overall, what to look for in your first year.”
Working with Nybbles and Engineering Sr this summer, Brianna was able to explore the many design teams throughout the Engineering Design Centre. Specifically, both camps toured Ravens Racing, and spoke to a few members of the team.
“I’m really excited to try to join Ravens Racing because that also fulfills being able to work with cars and work with aerospace stuff. Overall, I think mechanical [engineering] is very flexible, so it’s really easy to work with other people and in big teams and that’s what I hope for.”
Fawaz
Fawaz is a brand new Junior Instructor this summer at VV! He worked with various camps, including Programming, Engineering Jr, and General camps. When reflecting on his time at Carleton and how it has influenced his view of university life, he emphasizes the incredible support and collaboration of the VV instructor team.
“I met a bunch of cool, different people, which is what I’d imagine university would be like in terms of having different people in your classes at different times, you have your own separate schedule. So, meeting other people is a big defining factor of what university is.”
Fawaz is entering his first year of Civil Engineering at Carleton.
“I was looking into the Engineering programs, and when I first came for the Open House in October, Engineering is what stood out for Carleton out of all the other universities I went to.”
Ashwin
Ashwin is a returning Junior Instructor this summer! Similar to last year, Ashwin worked with our General camps, Sprockets and Explorers. He worked closely with Liz, Aleksey, and Sarah – three Engineering and Design students. When asked about his time returning to VV as a Junior Instructor, he mentions the opportunity VV gives for high school students.
“This is my second year of being a High School Instructor and these two years have given me the opportunity to get really familiar with the campus and I’ve been able to find new places and things to do around campus, like clubs, that I am very excited to join when I become a student.”
He also reflects on how his perspectives have changed as he approaches the school year. Working on campus for two years, Ashwin mentions his advantage of immersing himself in the Carleton campus.
“Working here has given me the opportunity to learn more about the campus, and that’s definitely helped my day to day navigating campus. I also have more information about the Engineering and Design Faculty and that’s helped with other friends who have had questions about Carleton engineering, and I think that will continue during my time here.”
Ashwin is entering Aerospace Engineering this fall.
Trent
Trent is also a returning Junior Instructor! Last year, Trent worked with Engineering Sr, whereas this year he assisted Game Design. He was teamed up once again with Connor, a fifth-year Aerospace student, along with Mia, a second-year Electrical Engineering student. When discussing his choices for post-secondary, Trent noted his experience in the Carleton community.
“Working at VV as a high school instructor has been really fun because it’s really shown me how accommodating and nice people are when you’re first starting here at Carleton. It’s been an overall really good experience and I’m happy to have worked here.”
After two summers at VV, Trent has chosen Carleton to pursue his studies in Mechanical Engineering!
By: Emily D’Alessandro