Interview: physics, Canada and cats
We have decided to try out a new format. We want to use real stories to talk about studying at the academy and working in industry, creating a start-up and changing the direction of academia-industry.
Today we chatted with Alena Boyko! She is studying for her master’s degree at the University of Toronto in Canada and graduated in physics from CUHK University in Hong Kong. She is into applied physics, from solar cells to sensors, and is also very fond of cats. She has a telegram channel, Churrrr, where she talks about life, studies, work and her volunteering at Toronto Cat Rescue!
A.: Hi! We already know something about you, but tell us a little more about yourself, please. How did you come to physics and why did you choose Hong Kong to study?
A.: It all started a long time ago: at school, my favourite subject was physics. I went to physics olympiads, where my interest grew stronger, and afterwards I decided to go and study physics. Why Hong Kong? When I was 12, my parents sent me to study Chinese. At first I was surprised, but after that I loved it: I took courses at the Confucius Institute and I’ve been to China several times, where I went with my family and to summer schools. At 14, on a trip to China with my family, I saw the CUHK campus for the first time, where there was a lot of greenery, a beautiful campus. Compared to the campuses of our universities, I realized I wanted to study here.
A.: I understand, I enjoy learning in beautiful places too!
A.: Another time I went alone to a school in China, where we learned Chinese. There was an alleyway on campus where there were statues of different scientists. I decided then that I would study in a place like that! I liked everything there, that’s all ))
A.: Was it frightening to go to study in another country?
A.: I have already traveled to schools, I have been to China several times without my family. My parents basically encouraged me to gain life experience and independence. So at high school, I was already working as a translator, working as an employee in my parents’ company. I was raised in such a way that I was prepared for an independent life, including life abroad.
A.: How did you decide to go to graduate school in Canada after China?
A.: I really liked Hong Kong, apart from the fact that the industry for physicists is poorly represented there. Biological and medical companies get good funding, there are many interesting projects, and the working conditions there are excellent. Programmers and financiers can also go there. For me, there were no suitable options. I decided to go somewhere else. I applied for the programmes and labs that interested me. I applied first and foremost to America, since deadlines there are earlier than in Europe.
A.: How are you doing in Canada? I saw that you found a job and are now combining it with your studies. Congratulations! Do you have enough time for everything?
A.: Yes, thank you! Time is really tight. Officially you can work off campus for 20 hours and unlimited on campus. I’ve been actively using that and working TA where I have about 15 hours a week workload, plus 20 hours at work.
A.: Were there any funny situations during your studies or work that you still remember?
A.: Surely there must have been. We need to think about it. For example, in Hong Kong and Canada there are people like TAs. They are graduate students who help you during your studies, plus do the work that the professor doesn’t want to do. I used to hang out with them, but now I’m one of them myself. In my opinion that’s the cool part of studying. When I realized that they are not gods, but ordinary people, I started treating them more nicely. For example, I once bought stickers with cats on them and put them up in my homework. So, for example, I had a ten-page homework assignment where I didn’t solve one problem. I wrote that I wasn’t going to finish it (as there was no time) and put a sticker with a crying cat on it. TA gave me almost a full grade because he understood me XD
A.: Who do you consider to be your mentor/inspirator? From school or university?
A.: I met a lot of great people along the way. At school, physics was read to me by the teachers I am guided by, teaching myself. They taught me how to teach physics, how to love it. In taekwondo, my coach became a moral compass for me. At university, I had excellent academic supervisors with whom I could talk about life and learn a lot.
A.: Do you have any plans for the future? Do you want to stay at the academy or maybe go into the industry?
А.: I’m honestly a bit tired of universities. I don’t plan to apply for a PhD. Maybe in the future, but when I realize that I really want to, rather than rolling down the beaten track. I’ve seen a lot of people continue their studies not because they made a decision based on their interests, but rather out of inertia. This can create a problem with finding a job in the future. The desire to work in any field is not increased if there was no consciousness in making decisions and time wasted. That’s why I want to find a job after my master’s degree, so I am now trying to find out what my options are. I thought I wanted to go into microelectronics, but I got a job in a nuclear company. And now I have that option, although I’m not a nuclear physicist at all.
A.: What advice do you have for those just starting out on their journey?
A.: It is important to choose the leader carefully and not to go by inertia. Any choice at all is important. I went to write my diploma based on a combination: a good supervisor plus an in-demand skill. It is also important to get into all sorts of trouble and not to be afraid of it, thinking that you lack a level or something else. So, for example, I got one of the important experiences when I went to do an internship in a laboratory after my first year, even though everyone discouraged me because I knew too little, being a first-year student. I may not have learned enough then, but it was an important milestone. Or now I went to summer school. I got sad at the thought of spending the summer in a lab, so I googled physics summer schools in Canada and found one cool one. It was on a topic I was unfamiliar with, but it was the best two weeks to immerse myself in the topic, meet the experts, and also I just had a great time.
A little tip from Alena: it helps me to deal with my problems to find my own community of like-minded people, who can look at my ideas and thoughts objectively from the outside and support me in difficult moments. Try to find them too.
A.: What 3–5 criteria do you think are important to build a career in academia?
A.: Not to be shy, to be punchy. In general, be prepared for things not to go as you planned and that’s okay.
A.: Was there a situation or career mistake that was made out of ignorance, but it provided a relevant experience that stimulated further events?
A.: For example, I had an internship that was a failure. It was an internship in the States, at Brown University, where I was given a task that was very difficult to implement. Everything was going wrong. At the final presentation, I literally had a list of mistakes instead of results. As far as I know, the project went nowhere after me. However, I learned a lot, got a recommendation from a professor, and had a good experience. Any experience is an experience; what matters is what you get out of it.
A.: It was a very interesting and fascinating conversation! Is there anything you want to say in conclusion?
A.: Rules can be circumvented. Within reasonable limits. The school I went to in the summer only took postgraduate students, and I am a master’s student. At university, they argued to me that I could not enroll in two courses at the same time, but I did so twice. It is important to try, to poke around, to achieve what you want and everything will work out!
Be sure to give it a try, and Connectome will help you with your search!
Authors: Alena A. Kozlova
Edited by: Timofei Ryko
