Best. Birthday. Ever.

Sydney Valentino will never forget the day she finished editing her thesis.

She was celebrating her 28th birthday in Egypt with her boyfriend Safi Elser. The Kinesiology PhD student had jumped at the chance to work remotely while wrapping up her thesis. Safi’s Egyptian so it was also a great opportunity to see and experience where he’d grown up. “Safi got to show me the places he’d been telling me about.”

With her thesis done and after Zoom calls with her mom and kid sister, Sydney and Safi headed out to visit the Great Pyramids. Safi asked a stranger if he’d take a picture and handed over his phone. Safi then got down on one knee and proposed to Sydney. “I think I forgot to say yes but we both knew the answer. We then went and had lunch with a view of the pyramids. It felt like I was in a dream.”

There was one more birthday surprise in store for Sydney. Later that day with an engagement ring on her finger, she was emailing the news to family and friends. That’s when she found the email from the McMaster Industry Liaison Office offering her a job as a program manager.

“I was speechless. For a long time, I’d wanted a change in so many areas of my life. A sense of peace washed over me knowing it had all come together. It was incredible to have everything happen in just 24 hours.”

Once back at Mac, Sydney successfully defended her thesis which explores the factors affecting ratings of perceived exertion across a spectrum of health and disease. Family, friends and even one of the participants from her research study cheered her on and then headed over to the Phoenix Bar and Grill for a celebration.

Sydney says she’ll also remember her thesis by the faculty who’d made a difference during her 10-year journey at Mac from undergrad degree to PhD. “I had three McMaster mentors who were so much more than their academic titles.”

Dean Maureen MacDonald was Sydney’s supervisor in the Vascular Dynamics Lab. “Sydney first emailed me about joining the lab back in 2015 while she was an undergrad,” says Maureen. “It’s hard to imagine the lab without her.”

Sydney says everyone in the lab took real pride in being organized and having clear structure for their work. “What’s often overlooked when it comes to structure is that it provides stability. Stability is what’s needed to be truly creative and curious – two essential elements at the core of experimental and fundamental science. Maureen and my supervisory committee allowed me to weave in many interests over the years and they always helped me find my way back on days when I needed direction.”

Associate Professor Krista Madsen in the Department of Kinesiology helped Sydney find both her purpose as a teacher and confidence as a presenter. “Krista has such a unique way of creating space to think, grow and become the fullest version of yourself. Krista taught me philosophies that impact far more than just classroom interactions.”

And Katie Moisse, an assistant professor with the School of Interdisciplinary Science, delivered a master class in authentic leadership. Katie was a great supporter of ComSciCon-CAN – an organization Sydney founded and then served on from 2018 to 2023. It’s Canada’s first national science communication workshop for graduate students.“Katie is so present and thoughtful about her connections and suggestions. There will be a generation of scientists who prioritize sharing their research with a broader audience because of Katie’s work.”

So does Valentino have any big plans for her 29^th birthday? And could anything top what happened this year? “No plans yet. Lots of milestones and momentum going into the year ahead. It’s only up from here.”