Health Science Reviews

By Andiswa Gabela 

Gabela is my surname, and most people—especially the guys—love calling me by it. This year didn’t start off great, but I’ve found some favorite people who make it fun.

Honours started with a big class… well, not that big, haha. The people are nice, and my IDI class? What a vibe! We even have our own Instagram page where we post our crazy, awesome pictures.

Nice people everywhere… just kidding, haha! Well, not really—some people could definitely step it up. But I’ve met some amazing folks who I can have long, wild conversations with.

I’m loving the project I’m working on with my incredible group. It’s amazing because it actually makes sense—well, to me at least! Sometimes, I get to try out techniques I’ve never done before, all by myself in the lab. I appreciate the flexibility—we don’t come in every day, but when we do, we make it count, haha! We can even be there until 11 p.m. My supervisor? Simply amazing! I think we share a certain mindset—something, something.

What I’ve learned here is that rules, guidelines, protocols, and due dates—they’re important, but they should be flexible enough to ensure we actually learn what we need to learn.

I think some people still don’t get that flexibility is key to healthy learning. That’s what makes an amazing supervisor versus a terrible one, a kind person versus a not-so-kind one.

Lastly, the workload can be overwhelming, especially for intercalating students like some of us. Sometimes, it’s hard to know where to start or what to finish, but working with my favorite people has kept me accountable and optimistic.

Thank you,

GABELA! GABELA!