Grad-emic Podcast: Graduating in a Pandemic

Today we interview each other for our last episode of the Grad-emic Mini Series. We discuss our thoughts towards the podcast process from inception to audio editing and Instagram marketing tactics. We also learned a lot from our friends, not only about their university experience but other relevant matters such as mental health, imposter syndrome and social comparison. We say goodbye... for now. Bayley and I would like to thank you all for listening to Grad-emic and we hope to be back soon with another project!

Today we are joined by Aly, who graduated with a fine arts degree in film from Concordia University. She choose to leave the province to go to Montreal, Quebec, not only for the program offered but mostly for the city, immersing herself in an entirely new environment. Upon completing her degree, she has decided roll with the punches and to take some time for herself before diving into the workforce. This decision prompted an internal battle, feeling the pressure of comparing herself to other peers. But after spending so much time in school, this was well needed and deserved.

Check out her podcast On The Piss, where Aly and her friend Izzy, talk about drinking culture, their "quarter life crises" and honestly, whatever they want. 

Today we are joined by Nidhi, an environmental engineering graduate from the University of Waterloo. She jumped right into the workforce after a previous co-op placement offered her a job! We discussed what environmental engineering consists of, what it is like finding a job in her desired field and what it has been like moving back home after living away from home for the duration of her university experience. 

Sam and Ira are back again. The pandemic had many people pick up new habits, some good and others...not so much. In this episode, the four of us discuss how many experienced a deterioration of mental health as a result of social isolation, what they thought of the university resources for mental health support and what they did to cope during these times. 

Today we are joined by Sam and Ira, recent graduates of York University. Sam completed her degree in Sociology. Ira completed her degree in Kinesiology. They both finished university shortly after the pandemic hit and had to navigate the final months of their degree online, leaving them to be the first round of graduates to not experience a traditional graduation ceremony. Despite a few set-backs caused by the pandemic, both have started a new chapter as they have moved out of their parents’ home and begin “adulting”.

Today we are joined by Sabrina, who completed her Kinesiology degree at the University of Toronto. She decided to remain in school an extra year to improve her GPA, in hopes of attending physiotherapy school. During that year she also created a motivational training and health platform centered around women, through which she realized how much she wanted to pursue her dream. Her hard work paid off as she got into a physiotherapy program in Ireland. We discuss how she has grown this past year through her various endeavours, how she prepared to go abroad and what she is expecting for the future of her platform. 

Today we are joined by Diogo, a recent Political Science graduate from the Glendon Campus at York University, who seeks a mental reset in his family’s hometown in Brazil after a challenging few years doing his undergrad experiencing imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is routed in self-doubt where a person believes they are undeserving or have difficulty accepting their accomplishments. In Diogo’s case, it was fuelled by internalized dialogue perpetuated in society that POC and immigrants do not “fit in” to mainstream academic settings.

In this episode, we introduce our podcast series and the driving forces behind its development. We shamelessly discuss ourselves: what we studied, where we went to school and how we think we handled university life overall, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.