“Your life is a journey; forever evolving, changing and growing. Be you and be true to yourself and don’t compromise who you are.”
Since 2018 McMaster’s alumni association has reached out to alumni each year to send inspiring words to the incoming class of students.
You can learn just as much from a failure as you can from a success, possibly even more. Learning from your mistakes is part of the process, so take the time to reflect on what you could do differently in the future. Also, don’t wait to ask for help or guidance if you need it. McMaster is there for you!
– Krista ’07
This year, the alumni association is donating $1 to the Access Strategy Fund for every piece of advice. To date there have been over 900 messages submitted from 18 countries, including notes from graduating classes as far back as the 1950s.
So far, $1,500 has been raised for the fund.
Keep an open mind about where this journey will lead – there is an enormous landscape of possibility at your feet, and your job isn’t to take the straightest path to a pre-determined destination, it’s to explore and appreciate that landscape and find the spaces that inspire you most to make your home there. – Stacey, ’97 and Faculty
The McMaster Access Strategy was established in 2018 to improve access to postsecondary education for students from underrepresented groups in Hamilton, including:
- First-generation university students
- Indigenous students
- Students with disabilities
- Racialized minority students
- Students from a low-income family or neighbourhood
- Adult learners who are new to post-secondary education
- Students from rural communities
- Women (in some faculties)
The program provides financial awards to students and includes outreach and admission strategies paired with support services to ensure students are successful through to graduation.