Thomas Gauvin

About Thomas

Thomas is a Software Engineering graduate driven by the opportunities created by the web and AI. Throughout his degree, he completed 3 Software Engineering internships, and was also very involved in student life. He organized Concordia’s student hackathon (ConUHacks V), founded the Gina Cody School Entrepreneurship Society, and acted as undergraduate representative for the Computer Science and Software Engineering department. He is now working in the software industry, where he hopes to one day lead a team to build software that brings value to people.

His one piece of advice for peers...

Your university experience is what you make of it. Now is the time to get involved, go to hackathons, join the outdoors club, meet new people, etc. Now is also the time to figure out what you want to do after school, so take on opportunities with companies or non-profits and try new stuff! An opportunity like this is rare, make the most of it.

Three keys to his academic success

• Everyone has their own unique way of learning; adopt a growth mindset and experiment to find out how you best learn. Knowing how you learn most effectively will help you out throughout the years.
• Personally, I’ve found that focusing on truly understanding the basics (rather than memorizing) before moving onto more complex subjects makes learning quite effective! This is why it is so useful to pay attention and study throughout the semester.
• Make friends with people that you will be able to rely on for group projects and that you can study with. University can be hard at times, and having a circle to rely on makes it easier! Plus, you build strong friendships and eventual co-workers in the industry.

Two study tips

• When I look back on my study habits, retrieval practice is one method that I use that stands out. Usually, I study a slide and move on, only to come back to that slide a few minutes later to make sure I can recall what I just studied. I’ll do that until I can easily retrieve the information, and I’ll repeat this process for all the material!
• Timeboxing your studies is important to be efficient while studying. Your studies/work will expand to fit the amount of time allocated to them, so timeboxing ensures you have focused time for studies. This lets you dedicate free time to spend with friends or family during which you won’t have to worry about your studies.

Thomas's next big goal

Lead a software team to build software that helps people live a more productive and fruitful life.