An Interview with Olivia Sun

Community Connections - IRHS Alumni Interview

Tanvi Manku

Image courtesy of Olivia Sun.

Olivia (she/her) is an IRHS Class of 2020 alumni student. To graduate in 2024, she is currently double-majoring in Philosophy with Ethics, Society & Law with a minor in Contemporary Asian Studies at the University of Toronto.

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

In Grade 11, I fell in love with philosophy and knew I wanted to dedicate my studies to this discipline. I know many people joke about philosophy majors being jobless, but I wholeheartedly believe in doing what you are passionate about! After I considered my strengths and interests, I also realized that being a lawyer was most likely going to be a career goal of mine. I enjoy public speaking, writing, and I believe strongly in justice. I actually chose to study philosophy before I decided to put law school into my life plans but turns out philosophy students generally achieve the highest scores on the LSAT due to their constant practice of logical thinking and argumentation. That worked out really well for me!

Since having two majors is a minimum requirement at UofT, I did some research on other programs the university offered and was intrigued by one called Ethics, Society & Law. It's quite a competitive program, accepting roughly 70 students each year, but it sounded relevant to my career goals and its course credit requirements had some overlap with my philosophy program - that means that for certain courses, I can put the same credit toward both of my programs. As I said, I do believe in pursuing what you love, but it's also important to plan wisely so that you can graduate on time!

The story behind my minor in Contemporary Asian Studies is a lot less inspiring. There was a research scholarship that I really wanted and they had a preference for students studying Contemporary Asian Studies, so I thought I'll enroll in this program! II do enjoy learning about global affairs and societies in different cultures, so I'll probably enjoy the program anyway. I ended up getting the scholarship, so I'd say it worked out well for me!

Olivia winning 2nd Novice Speaker at Cambridge IV debate tournament. Image courtesy of Olivia Sun.

Why did you choose to attend your university/college?

I chose UofT for two reasons: program suitability and lifestyle. I researched about program rankings across Canadian universities to help me decide which school was rated the highest in terms of the studies I was interested in. UofT is also well-known on a global level which I felt would open me up to greater job and extracurricular opportunities. In regards to lifestyle, I absolutely love big cities and so being downtown was very appealing. It's important to enjoy your social life when you can!

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

I'm not sure if my answer would've changed had I experienced a normal in-person first-year, but I think the biggest change I needed to adapt to was the workload. To be honest, it wasn't awful because I already mentally prepared myself for a major difference, but university made me wonder how I ever thought high school deadlines were tight. There was not a week that went by without something being due. The courses provide an entire outline of the semester on day 1 and you have to plan out your readings yourself. Sometimes, if I didn't start a book early enough, I would have to finish an entire book in a week (though skimming long text has become a frequently-used skill). I ended up buying an agenda to schedule my time and I used it to create to-do lists for each day one week in advance. I also just forced myself to sacrifice more free time, which was not too difficult considering COVID took away a lot of opportunities for social activities and I already had a good work ethic in high school.

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

Probably just putting 100% effort into school.

Even for courses that I did not enjoy, I still pushed myself to do the best that I could. The ability to be self-driven and not require an external source of motivation does wonders for one's productivity and grades. For instance, I was never a STEM gal, but during parent-teacher nights in high school, my STEM teachers would always tell my parents about how I should continue pursuing [insert STEM subject] and my parents would just laugh, knowing I would never choose that path (no hate to STEM, I respect it very much!).

I was never afraid to ask teachers for help, even if that meant bombarding them with questions. I would willingly give up lunch breaks or ask teachers to meet after school because I wanted to do great. I cannot stress how important it is to clearly understand assignment instructions in university.

I never looked to get a 90 and be content; I always wanted to be the best. Now, this was a double-edged sword because it also meant that I got bummed easily in university. I may have been perceived as "super smart" in high school, but when there are now thousands of people in my year? It's not worth burdening yourself with the pressure to be the best anymore because it's a title that's extremely hard to achieve, and, not to mention, measure.

What was your favorite memory from IRHS?

Being in Orlando for a week was very exciting, and who doesn't love spending a day at Universal Studios? The opening and closing ceremonies were also such a wild experience, seeing students from all over the world wearing their area's special costume and pin. The energy in the crowd during awards was unforgettable, though I may be a little biased because Ontario crushed it.

Moreover, it was a proud moment for myself. I worked very hard on my pitch and practiced countless times, so to be given the chance to present on an international level was amazing. Unfortunately, my pitch went horribly wrong during the actual competition and I definitely cried all day because of it, but I also learned a lot, and I made wonderful memories with wonderful people. Already having a solid report and pitch set the foundation for my successful ICDC qualification the following year.

What are your plans for the future?

Over the summer, I worked as an English tutor to earn some money in a meaningful way. Living in downtown Toronto is expensive, but I have to pay those expenses somehow!

I've also been volunteering for a Chinese stem cell charity called "OtherHalf" who is running a national stem cell campaign right now. There are many misconceptions surrounding stem cell donation that prevent people from registering and as a result, lead to hundreds of patients in Canada without a stem cell match. Because ethnicity plays a big role in stem cell matches, the huge ethnic disparity in the registry bothers me and I want to help close that gap.

Olivia's team's pitch about the female refugee VET mentorship program featured on the Munk One Instagram story. Image courtesy of Olivia Sun.

Furthermore, one of my first-year courses, Munk One, included a Sustainable Development Goals case competition to prepare us for an actual funding proposal available exclusively for people in our cohort. My team and I are currently smoothing out the details of our intervention, Connect FR - a peer mentorship program for female refugees in vocational education training programs at Seneca College - in hopes of receiving the funding for our project's implementation.

In October, I will be travelling to Dubai for the International Astronautical Congress where my team and I will be presenting our paper on designing a risk triage system for space debris mitigation purposes.

Next year, I will be travelling to Denpasar, Indonesia to conduct research about the effectiveness of tobacco education-based programs amongst rural Indonesian youth thanks to the funding of the Dr. David Chu Scholarship.