Department of Statistical Sciences: Why did you decide to become a mentor?
Anees Shaikh: I used to tutor children in my neighbourhood at an organization called Pathways to Education. Working there gave me the opportunity to help many students succeed in high school. A few summers later, I worked for the Toronto InnerCity Rugby Foundation (TIRF) by helping deliver rugby programming to more than 1,000 kids.
Having the ability to influence youth and support them through their lives was a great experience and something that I wanted to explore in university as well. Fortunately, I found this mentorship position through an email sent by the department. I thought I would be a great fit for it and decided to apply right away.
I had been a first-year myself and I know that first year can be all sorts of crazy. Having someone to support you through that time to show you the ropes is immensely helpful. I knew that I wanted to have that kind of impact, so becoming a mentor was definitely a no-brainer for me.
What made your mentorship experience unique?
The mentorship program was set up in a way that enabled each individual to have more direct time with their mentees. This provided us with the opportunity to really connect with first-year students and get to know them on a deeper level. Being at UofT, you’re reminded of the amazing diversity of experiences that everyone around you has had. Getting to know first-year students on that level and having the chance to understand their diverse backgrounds was very special.
How did your mentorship experience enhance your undergraduate experience as a statistics student?
I think that If I had just strictly stuck to doing my courses, my university experience would have felt incomplete. I wanted to accomplish more than that. I realized that I wanted to help make a difference in the experience of first-year students.
In a non-cliché way, I have learned a lot from them, which has certainly impacted my own experience. While being dedicated to coursework and assignments is important, I think that there’s more to university than just academics. Being able to share that with first-year students and introduce them to different avenues of expression to truly enrich their experience at UofT was very fulfilling.
What is a class that you would recommend other students to take during their time in undergrad? Why?
While there are a few courses that I really enjoyed, such as—NCM254, HPS222, and NEW315—I don’t think I’d recommend just one course. Instead, I think it’s important for the students themselves to dig deeper and find courses that stimulate their interests. The reality is that most students will have additional interests and at UofT, they have a fantastic opportunity to explore them in an academic context with some of the best Professors in the world.
My recommendation would be to see what your interests are or identify things you’d like to learn about and then go and look for a course that caters to those interests in Course Finder.
What do you do in your free time? Any interesting hobbies?
I have quite a few hobbies: anime, working out, playing sports like rugby, tennis, badminton. I enjoy getting out there and being in the moment, even if it’s outside of my comfort zone. My favourite quote is ‘Stay hungry, stay foolish’.
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