CLICK HERE to join the event!

Are you considering graduate studies at McGill? Do you want to learn more about the graduate school experience? Do not miss your chance to hear from a panel of grad students who will talk about why they chose grad school, and their experiences at McGill! Moderated by graduate student Hazel Shields (BA&Sc.'21), the panel will follow a Q&A format, featuring Favour Daka, Mohammed Antar, and Alyssa Conlon, who are each working towards different graduate degrees at McGill. Come prepared with your questions!

Opening remarks will be given by The Dean of Grad Studies, Dr. Josephine Nalbantoglu. 

Speakers

PANELISTS:

Favour Daka (BA'21, MA Geography): Greetings all! My name is Favour Daka (he/him) and I'm an international student from Nigeria pursuing an MA in Geography at McGill. I did my undergraduate degree in Political Science focusing on African environmental politics, and for my master's degree, I am studying the influence of colonization on contemporary African urban landscapes, with a focus on new cities built in the last 20 years. 

Mohammed Antar (PhD Agronomy): I'm from Erbil in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. I obtained my BSc in Plant Production/Agriculture from Salahaddin University-Erbil, then I completed my MSc (with distinction) in Plant Science at the University of Manchester. I joined the Department of Plant Sciences at McGill in Fall 2017 to pursue my PhD in Agronomy, focusing on Plant-Microbe Interactions and enhancing crop productivity using beneficial microbes/bacteria. In the future I aim to become a research scientist and continue working on microbial products that stimulate and promote plant growth and increase crop yield. Besides my studies, I oversee Macdonald Campus Graduate Students' Society (MCGSS) as President.

Alyssa Conlon (MIst Library and Information Science): Hi! My name is Alyssa Conlon, and I'm a second year Information Studies Master's student. I did my undergrad in translation at Concordia University. I spent a few years teaching abroad in Germany before deciding to start grad school. My main interests in my program lie in information and archival literacy, digital engagement, and digitization. I am also a member of the Library Improvement Fund Committee, where we aim to create a more welcoming and overall better library environment for grad students. Outside of school, I also have a full-time job in marketing. I am happy to answer any questions about my studies, my work-school-life balance, or anything else. 

MODERATOR:

Hazel Shields (BA&Sc'21, MSc Neurobiology & Neuroscience): My name is Hazel Shields, and I am a first-year M.Sc. student in the Department of Biology. In April I completed my B.A. & Sc. at McGill in Cognitive Science and Math, where I studied the role of a RAB-5 GAP in the longevity of long-lived mitochondrial mutants. Currently I am working on my thesis in the Dent lab. My project uses the model organism Caenorhabditis elegans to explore the basis of anti-parasitic drug resistance. More specifically, my work attempts to explain the causative nature of an established relationship between chemosensory neuron morphology and ivermectin resistance in nematode parasites. Outside of the lab, I am a senior editor for Cognitive Circuits, an undergraduate research journal at McGill, and I work as a peer tutor. After my M.Sc. I plan on attending medical school.