This summer, FMAS is fortunate to be able to count on a group of outstanding summer interns to help our units. These enthusiastic individuals have stepped into our Building Operations, Campus Planning and Development, Design Services, Energy and Utilities Management, and Human Resources teams for a few weeks to contribute their skills and learn from our experienced teams.
Most of them are currently McGill students, while one has recently completed her studies. Today we introduce you to nine of these recruits who are bringing us fresh perspectives. Find out what their interests are beyond their studies and work.
Lydia and Shuyang (Building Operations)
Lydia and Shuyang have taken on the impressive task of surveying all 800 exterior doors on our downtown and Macdonald campuses. The objective is to establish a baseline assessment of the doors' condition. As part of their meticulous inspections, they will photograph the doors, frames, and alarm systems, verify the functionality of the hardware, and record all their findings in a new database. This project will inform the prioritization of necessary repairs and ensure the safety of exit ways.
Lydia Angel-Fox
Student, Political Science
From Kelowna, British Columbia
Fun fact(s): Lydia loves history and spends her free time researching fun facts about the McGill campus and the city of Montreal. “I am also a big Formula 1 fan, and I will talk about the sport for hours, given the chance,” she says. She will also be attending this Saturday (June 17)'s qualifying session at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
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Shuyang Luo
Student, Physiology
From Alberta, Calgary
Fun fact(s): Shuyang enjoys photography, Chinese literature, reading and playing volleyball. “I also enjoy exploring different places, food and culture in Montreal,” she adds.
Mariesandra and Justin (Campus Planning and Development)
Mariesandra Kibisu
Student, Computer Science and Economics
From Kenya
Mariesandra works on the Space and Program Planning team, with CPD’s Erica and Renata. She is conducting space audits and updating existing space data. The confirmation of the current space usage will be used as base allocations for future space requests.
Fun fact(s): Mariesandra enjoys travelling and being with her friends and family. “So, when I’m not studying, I’m definitely hanging out with my friends, either biking or going out to parks,” she says.
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Justin Rivera
Student, Urban Planning
From New York City, U.S.
Justin is working on the master plan and transportation plans at both the downtown and Macdonald campuses. He is looking at the impact of the REM and Exo bus services and preparing a set of needs and positions on transportation, with a priority focus on the Mac campus.
Fun fact(s): “Being from New York City, the city life is in my blood,” says Justin. You can find him walking or biking around all corners of Montreal, capturing moments on his phone or film, or you can find him in a brewery tasting the freshest brews while he listens to his endless playlists.
Liliane and Darin (Design Services)
Liliane Bamdadian
Student, Architecture
Persian, born in France and raised in Canada
Liliane will survey the exterior door signs across the downtown campus to identify where signage is missing. She will also help prepare base plans for presentation documents. Moreover, she’s working on creating a comparison table to compare the criteria of our accessibility standards with Canadian Standards Association standards and the building code.
Fun fact(s): “In my first year of undergrad in Architecture, my friends May and Maria and I won 2nd place in the 2018 Quebec Ice Hotel competition,” says Liliane. The room they designed was then built out of ice and snow and became part of the hotel rooms. “Most architecture students don’t get to see their projects built at all, so it was really unique and fun. I also have a dog named Elvis.”
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Darin Wang
Student, Materials Engineering, Co-op program (includes three work experiences with companies in the field totalling up to 12 months.)
From Ottawa, Ontario
Darin will survey all the individual washrooms on the downtown campus in order to facilitate the modification of existing signage to be gender neutral. He will also copy all the drawings of projects in construction or delivery from Unifier to eSpace.
Fun fact(s): Darin enjoys playing volleyball, ultimate frisbee and trivia. He is also a music enthusiast and addicted to his Spotify playlist, which has over 750 songs. He is currently a member of McGill’s Robotics Team as well as of the McGill Rocket Team.
Helen (Human Resources)
Helen Qin
From Beijing and later British Columbia
Recent McGill graduate, Industrial and Labour Relations
Following the recent move of the HR team to the fifth floor of 1010 Sherbrooke, the team needed to sort through 50 boxes of files. Helen is supporting the team with this task by documenting the files that need to be archived, updating HR’s shared filing system and helping with the team’s last push to go paperless. She also assists the team with recruitment files.
Fun fact(s): Helen is an animal lover and at one point had 12 golden retrievers (four adults and eight puppies) as well as three cats and tropical fish. She is also a “foodie” who loves to explore food from different cultures.
Amanda and Kainaat (Utilities and Energy Management)
Amanda David
Student, Civil Engineering
From Montreal, Quebec
Amanda David started this year working on the Physical Infrastructure Portfolio. She will work on the annual review of capital projects to identify deficiencies that have been addressed by projects closed during the past year and update deferred maintenance data.
Fun fact(s): Amanda is a sports fan and loves playing and watching hockey. “I am also becoming more and more of a foodie. I enjoy exploring new places in Montreal, so I am always open to suggestions!” she says. With an interest in architecture and sustainable development, she hopes to focus her career on the design of sustainable infrastructure.
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Kainaat Khan
Student, Civil Engineering
From Montreal, Quebec
Kainaat is returning for a third year with UEM. In previous years, she performed similar work to what Amanda is taking on this year. This year, she is supporting the energy managers with the annual maintenance of energy meters and the utility services engineer with the coordination of the annual validation of backflow preventers.
Fun fact(s): “I’ve gone winter camping up north in Quebec,” says Kainaat. “It was an eye-opening experience; from having to wear snowshoes to trek around the mountain so you don’t sink in, to spending hours building an igloo to sleep in and going on the frozen lake to dig up water.”