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For Ehrin Turkovich, the valedictorian for the fall 2022 cohort in the Faculty of Mathematics, a degree in math represents expanded horizons.

Turkovich grew up in a small town in southern Ontario, where most people she met saw a career in medical sciences as the only trajectory for someone who was excited about STEM. She loved her high school math classes, but didn’t see how she could have a career that incorporated that enthusiasm.

Everything changed for her in grade twelve, when her calculus and advanced functions teachers encouraged her to consider a career applying mathematics to a secondary field: in this case, business. “They opened up a world for me in terms of what I could learn,” she says. “They showed me the more applicative side of math – that it was more than what I was just doing in the classroom. There’s a whole world full of people using this for research every day.”

With her teachers’ encouragement, Turkovich enrolled in the double degree program offered by the University of ��ݮ��Ƶ and Wilfrid Laurier University. This week she graduates with an Honours Bachelor of Mathematics, Co-operative program (UW) and Bachelor of Business Administration (WLU).

In addition to the world-class academics and the practical skills gained in co-op, Turkovich’s favourite part of her time at ��ݮ��Ƶ was the network of connections she was able to build with her peers. “Double degree is kind of a little community,” she says, “so I had a really strong group of people to help me push through.”

Like so many other students, the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted Turkovich’s time at ��ݮ��Ƶ, threatening to sever her from the community that she felt she had only begun to build. The pandemic began during her third year, just as she was beginning to settle in and feel at home in her programs. “I felt very isolated,” she remembers, “not being able to interact the same way and collaborate. Math is one of those fields where you really need other people to work together with in order to learn.”

Throughout the pandemic and beyond it, though, Turkovich stayed busy: cooking and baking, playing on a baseball team in the summers, and taking long walks every day, rain or shine. She found ways to continue to connect to her peers, too: collaborating on small and large projects, studying together virtually, and commiserating over shared struggles regardless of their physical locations. “I had a small core of individuals – both family and friends – who pulled me through,” she says. “I don’t think I would have been able to get through university without them.”

Now, as valedictorian, she’s using her platform to be a voice for her peers. “Sometimes you feel like an imposter in your work,” she reflects, “but then you realize everyone feels that way. Asking for help can feel taboo. But if I can do it, anyone can do it. It doesn’t have to be scary.”

Turkovich’s time at ��ݮ��Ƶ taught her to be flexible and keep her options open, and she’s applying that lesson to her career as well. After finishing her coursework, she took time off to travel and explore different options. She isn’t sure yet where she wants to end up – maybe in a career in fixed income trading, but maybe somewhere else entirely. She knows that she has the preparation and skills to succeed wherever she chooses to go next.

“I’ve learned that you don’t have to be afraid,” she says, “to do something unconventional.”