An Interview with Aiman Dhiloon

Community Connections - IRHS Alumni Interview

Tanvi Manku

Aiman (she/her) is an IRHS Class of 2020 alumni student and is currently in the Honours Life Sciences program at McMaster University, Class of 2024.

How did you decide which field/program you wanted to pursue?

In high school, I really made an effort to explore opportunities from various different fields; through courses and extracurriculars, I tried just about everything. In doing so, I found that nothing motivates me to keep learning as much as science- it was clear to me that I wanted to know more, to dive deeper into understanding and expand upon the science that I had learned thus far.

However, I also wanted the room to continue to explore my interests outside of science, such as in business and humanities. All this led me to Honours Life Sciences at McMaster, which allows me to further my learning in science while also giving me the chance to customize my degree with plenty of room for electives.

Why did you choose to attend your university/college?

Like most people, it took a lot of time for me to decide which university was right for me. After taking time to weigh all the options, I ended up choosing McMaster for a number of reasons.

Even in grade 12, it was evident to me that McMaster is an excellent school that offers a world-class education. It also has an amazing, supportive, and diverse community of students and staff. There are so many opportunities to get involved in hands-on research- in fact, I was able to secure a spot on a supervised research team even as a first year.

I had also previously attended many extracurricular events at McMaster, and admired the environment they have created, which fosters collaboration and problem-based learning.

Overall, it was just the school that felt the most right to me, and I could not be happier with my choice!

What was the biggest challenge you faced transitioning from high school to university/college and how did you overcome it?

Everyone warns you about the transition from high school to university, but I think you only ever really understand the magnitude of that change once you go through it yourself.

For me, the biggest challenge was going from being in a relatively small student body at IRHS to a much larger one in university. There's so many people, not just from your city or your province, but from all over the world. While this was quite daunting at first, what helped me was to change my way of thinking and expand my horizons.

I got involved in things that I care about (even ones that I had never tried before), reached out to people and made new friends, and did my best in my classes. I realized that it is very unhelpful to get too focused on competition or being the best.

Ultimately, while going from a small pond to a large ocean is scary, it also opens the door to a whole new world of opportunities and people that you can learn from, if you only allow yourself to do so.

What did you do in high school that you feel helped prepare you for university/college?

Iroquois Ridge really is an amazing school, and a huge part of what goes into that is the teachers. My grade 12 teachers were all instrumental in helping prepare myself and my peers for university life. They emphasized the importance of reaching out and connecting with peers, doing self-guided research outside of course materials, and gave invaluable feedback on the work we did in class. It takes all that and more to do well in university, and during first year I felt so thankful to have listened to, appreciated and applied the advice my teachers gave me. I'd encourage all high school students to do the same!

What was your favorite memory from IRHS?

I have so many great memories from IRHS, it's hard to choose just one! From being involved in DECA to singing at coffeehouse, to Selluski's law classes and Merner's bell-ringers (though they really didn't seem fun at the time...), my time at IRHS was full of memories that I'll never forget!