Valedictorian made it her mission to return the favour and give first-year science students a great university experience

The start was brutal but the finish was brilliant for Life Sciences student Srishti Sharma.

The pandemic pushed Srishti’s entire first year at McMaster online – so no living in residence, no on-campus Welcome Week, no in-person lectures and labs and no pulling all-nighters with friends in the library and student centre. Srishti says she only made it through the year thanks to the support, reassurance and kindness of an amazing group of mentors connected with McMaster Undergraduate Women in STEM and the McMaster Life Sciences Society.

Srishti spent the rest of her time at Mac returning the favour. She signed on as a mentor with Women in STEM in her second year, worked as a campus tour guide, served as Faculty of Science ambassador and residence orientation rep and joined the Faculty of Science’s Office of Undergraduate Studies as a student navigator.

Acting Assistant Dean Ben O’Connor worked alongside Srishti and marvelled at how she welcomed every student who came through the doors. Srishti’s entrepreneurial spirit also led to new and improved ways of engaging with students.

Srishti was both an exemplary science student and an outstanding mentor and leader for the other students working in the office, says Ben. “Her calm approach when helping current students and guiding future applicants was exemplary and contagious.”

And in her fourth year, Srishti finally got to live on campus by working as a community advisor in the Bates Residence. While it was tough to leave her roommates after two years together, living in residence had been on her bucket list. As an advisor, Srishti answered any and all questions and met one-on-one with students throughout the year. “They were really sweet. I lived the first-year experience vicariously through them.”

Srishti also leaned into research opportunities. She was a research assistant, coordinator and intern with McMaster’s Department of Medicine. And she was also a clinical assistant, thesis student and senior research assistant with Hamilton Health Sciences.

That research set the stage for Srishti’s last and best day as an undergrad. She spent it with friends and classmates at the Life Sciences Interdisciplinary Research Symposium. It’s an annual, end-of-year event where fourth-year students who’ve completed an independent study, project or thesis can showcase their work with either a poster or oral presentation.

Srishti opted a 10-minute talk that drew on her work in the Pediatric Celiac Disease Clinic at McMaster’s Children’s Hospital.  Through her research, Srishti found lots of teens were discontinuing their care and putting their health at risk. So she created a framework for enhancing the transition of care process for adolescents and young adults.

When the symposium wrapped up in CIBC Hall, Srishti’s four years as a Mac undergrad came to an end – she didn’t have any final exams to write.

She’s spending her summer working in Hamilton Health Sciences’ Population Health Research Institute. After working with patients in the Pediatric Celiac Clinic, Srishti gets to work with data to round out her skills as a researcher.

And in June, she’ll be delivering the valedictorian address at her Convocation ceremony.

Looking ahead to the fall, Srishti will join the Mary Heersink Program in Global Health at McMaster, a 12-month multi-institutional and transdisciplinary master’s program. She’ll also be heading across the Atlantic to present her thesis work at the International celiac Disease Symposium in Sheffield.

Srishti still plans to stay involved in student life. “The more you have on your plate, the less time you have to second guess yourself. You just do things. And it feels good to give back and help students make the most of their university experience.”