Salma Elmahallawy

About Salma

Salma is a fourth-year computer engineering student from Egypt who came to Canada determined to set high academic goals for herself and form valuable connections and friendships. During her third year, Salma developed an interest in teaching and became the lab instructor for two computer engineering courses. During her interships, she  applied her knowledge from the classroom in enterprise technology and software development.

Her one piece of advice for peers...

Seek to get out of your comfort zone. Taking risks and stepping out of your comfort zones are among the best ways to grow and learn in the process. University gives you so many opportunities to do so, make sure you take advantage of it.

Three keys to her academic success

• As a goal setter, I am always aware that I am the only one responsible for my academic success and I must work hard enough for it and avoid getting easily distracted.
• I never leave anything to the last minute. I start planning my semester ahead of time once the course outlines have been provided and I keep track of the important deadlines in a planner. I make sure that I study and solve assignments once they have been assigned to leave time for review or any emergencies that might delay my work.
• I ask a lot of questions while studying and try to research further. This allows me to make sure I am learning and not just aiming for a high grade on my transcript. I make use of office hours to ask any questions that remain unanswered.
  

Two study tips

• Find a small study group that works in a similar way to you and that has the same academic goals. Throughout my years in university, I have found that this is one of my main sources of motivation to study.
• Do not procrastinate. Try to have something to look forward to every night so that you can try to finish your work as soon as possible. It will be like the light at the end of the tunnel and you will find that you will waste much less time while studying.
  

Salma's next big goal

My goal is to graduate with Great Distinction and get a job that I will passionately enjoy and look forward to getting up for every day, which is not something everyone experiences.