Hope Mahood

English Language and Literature and Classical Studies Double Major

Fourth Year

Hometown: Toronto, Ontario

What is one thing you wish you knew before starting first-year?

Get to know London! I didn't start exploring the city until I was in second year, but I wish I'd done so sooner. London has so many hidden gems like Richie's Diner, Asmara Coffee House, The Alley Bubble Tea, Boxcar Donuts ... the list could go on forever

What was your favourite first-year course?

English 1020E with Dr. Bentley — almost everything I learned about writing university-level essays came from that course

How did you decide on your Major?

English and Latin were my two favourite subjects in high school and I loved my first-year introductory courses — double majoring in English and Classical Studies was a no-brainer!

Have you had a chance to travel for school?

I work full-time as the Coordinating Editor for the Western Gazette where I oversee all our news and opinions coverage. I love my job too much to leave it to study abroad!

How did you learn to find your way around such a big place?

I got lost a lot. Sometimes I got lost with friends, sometimes I got lost by myself. But no matter how lost I got there were always people around happy to give me directions. During my first week, I got lost on the second floor of the UCC and stumbled across the Gazette office — I ended up meeting some great people, staying for an hour to volunteer and have been working there ever since.

Are your professors approachable?

Most of my professors are super approachable and supportive. Some of my greatest learning moments in university have been during casual 1-on-1 discussions with my profs after class.

What's it like living in residence?

My favourite part of residence was being able to walk downstairs and grab a fully-made breakfast — the best was on the weekends when they made eggs to order

"Meet as many people as possible during the first few weeks. Everyone else in first-year is new and nervous too — so introduce yourself to the people in your classes, join campus groups like the Gazette and get to know the people on your floor."