High academic achievement has been a hallmark of this industrial engineering grad
Born in Montreal, Cynthia Volpe didn’t know she wanted to be an engineer until she was almost finished her studies at Vanier College. For many years she thought she wanted to be a pediatrician. But she saw a Concordia brochure at an open house, learned about industrial engineering, and was hooked. It was the “mix of business and science” that appealed to her.
Her decision was almost immediately rewarded by a Hydro-Québec bursary that covered all four years of her education. Once in classes, she quickly realized that the small student cohort was a big plus of her chosen program. Typically about 30 students are together throughout the duration of their studies. “It was a family atmosphere,” she says. “And the teachers know you.”
In her third year she attended the annual conference of the Institute of Industrial Engineers. She loved it and returned for the next year’s conference in Halifax, this time as part of a team that entered the theory competition. Their contest entry finished in the top three of all of Canada.
High academic achievement has been a hallmark of all four of Cynthia’s years with Concordia. She credits that to time management. Six weeks before the end of every term, she would make a calendar, colour coded to represent each class, and schedule everything required to successfully complete all her assignments and exams.
While studying, she even managed to hold down a part-time retail job. “Working made me more organized,” she says. During her fourth year, she quit retail in order to complete an internship with the aerospace company Pratt and Whitney, a placement she found while a member of the Concordia Institute of Aerospace Design and Innovation.
Her inspirational figure is none other than Mom. She explains, “My mom has been sick with cancer but has always stayed so strong. She’s had several surgeries but she’s always maintained this positive attitude, this joie de vivre. That’s the way I want to live my life and my professional career.”
Family is clearly important to her, and she jokes about the big family dinners that are routine in her Italian family. “My family always tries to fatten me up because they think I’m too thin.”
Next she would like to try working in the food industry, where industrial engineers are often in demand for their knowledge of systems and organization. But before embarking on the job search, she’ll be visiting Europe, where joie de vivre will be priority number one.
Related links:
• Read about more 2012 Great Grads in the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science
• Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science
• Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering