Liliane Nguemtchouang

“Being a student is difficult sometimes, but I love being at Concordia. People are so friendly and it’s so easy to make friends here.”

Liliane Nguemtchouang discovered a culture of solidarity at the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science.

Being mentored through Co-op's Women in Engineering program and surrounded by a welcoming community has enhanced her journey towards becoming an engineer.

What has Electrical Engineering been like?

Electrical Engineering has been a life-changing journey. You discover so much about yourself in this program. It’s hard, but at the same time it’s so interesting. I love learning about circuits, signals and communications. Physics is a love-hate relationship for me. Sometimes it takes many weeks to understand a topic but when you finally understand it, you feel so great. That’s what I like about engineering in general – that warm feeling you get when you understand a topic.

Why did you choose Concordia?

I chose Concordia because I wanted to get actual work experience in Co-op and I always wanted to study in English. But another big part is the diversity. When I went on Concordia’s website, I liked that I was seeing people who looked different from each other and that there were a lot of international students. At frosh, I was meeting new people and they came from all around the world. As someone who grew up in Quebec City with a rather limited exposure to other cultures, I found it fascinating to meet people from countries that I hadn't even heard of before.

What was the greatest thing you learned in the Co-op program?

My first internship was at Matrox and my second and third were at Bombardier. I’m still doing a 4^th internship right now at Bombardier because I loved it. The Co-op program added value to my university years because all these internships helped me see what I want to do in the future. It’s so great to work in the field and ask yourself — do I actually want to do this? Through Co-op, you discover new interests that you didn’t have before.

But the greatest thing I got from Co-op was a mentorship initiative with Bombardier called Women in Engineering – Career Launch Experience. I got paired up with a full-time employee at Bombardier which helped me a lot – imagine having guidance from a professional while in an internship. The person I am today was strongly impacted by the mentors that I met through this initiative.

What’s the culture like at Gina Cody?

I love it. For me, Gina Cody is like solidarity. In engineering, you can’t do it on your own. I have a good network of friends and we all help each other. That’s something I’ve noticed here — people are really prone to helping each other out. When you have questions, you can ask your friends and make study groups with people. It’s really easy to approach people and become friends because you have the same goal of passing your class. That’s why I’m so happy here.

Do you have any tips for future students who want that community but don’t know where to begin?

Get involved! Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. When I came from Quebec City, I didn’t know anyone at Concordia. If I’m sitting beside someone in class, I just turn and start a conversation with the person next to me. It’s stressful at first, but just do it. It doesn’t matter if you’re an introvert or extrovert; creating a network is the best way to stay happy in university.