I’m Abhinav from the class of 2012! MD was a heck of a place to be, and I’m really glad to see that it still is. You all should have seen my combined wonder and dismay when I found out that everyone now has access to a cool new recording studio, upgraded movie editing programs, guitars (!!!!!), and a bunch of other awesome and fun things that probably could have changed the career path that I currently am on!

I’m at McMaster University for Computer Science and Business, because that’s a field that continues to interest me. I love both understanding the technical side of things as well as interacting with people as a whole. Right now, I’m an intern at Loblaw Companies Limited. I help a lot of the executives with their work as well as manage the team of interns that are currently working here alongside me.

I want you to picture metal flying toward a magnet. See the pieces of iron, steel, copper, or what have you zooming toward an attracting force? Now I want you to picture you as the magnet, and opportunities as the coins. The thing that I really discovered and appreciated in grade 12/post-secondary life is that opportunities throw themselves at you. No matter where you go, there will always be opportunities around you.

“What is the best part about having so many opportunities come your way?” you may ask. That’s easy; being able to pick and choose what you want to do. If it hasn’t already been said by those who came before and after me, secondary and post-secondary life is where you can make just about anything happen. For me, the key to growth was learning how to take advantage of such opportunities. The way I see it is this: those opportunities are a course list that you can select from to learn and grow, with no limit on how many you can take! They’ll range from activities like fencing, to video games with your friends, to arts like ballet, to being an upper year leader, rep, or mentor to incoming students, or even actual courses!

Take as many of these as you want, or as little as you want, but always remember to keep your mind as open as you can. I mean, look at me for example – I graduated high school as fairly shy, timid, and not wanting to step that much outside my comfort zone… but I will never regret applying to be a Welcome Week Rep in my second year because that brought out a whole new side of me that I didn’t even know existed. Now I can’t help but go anywhere without feeling the urge to talk to someone and introduce myself (hence the business alongside my computer science).

At the end of the day, I believe opportunities can play a huge role in shaping an individual’s growth and future. But you have to meet them halfway – you hold the most powerful key in the universe, but you have to be willing to open the door should you choose to.

Best of luck!

From Mark Saunders to Chris Hadfield, you might be surprised to learn who has come through MD, and where they are now!

Were YOU at MD? We welcome all updates to share here.  Please include your full name, years at MD, a photo, update, and any advice you can share with our current community here. Submit to gleesona@hdsb.ca.