Embedded Files
Written by Max Safir, 11/11/2024
Peter Katz:
Second edition of The Stand’s Alumni Outreach.
Chatting one-on-one with the ‘21 York School Alumni.
Currently a 4th year student at McGill for Political science and History.
After Peter’s time at York, he went to McGill where he has been working towards his undergrad and has also worked at some (really interesting) internships. Today, join us on The Stand as we cover choosing courses for one’s undergrad, life at McGill, and the best places to eat in Montreal.
What made you choose, and kept you, in political science and history?
“My interest in politics, something I’ve enjoyed being involved in; has been a guiding factor behind my choice to take these courses for my undergrad.”
“But another important factor is that, with a general arts degree, like psychology, history, economics, etc., there's a lot of flexibility.”
“It allows you to try different things, to experiment, and narrow down your preferences.”
“Also, I’ve seen myself improve in a number of useful skills; such as research, writing, and critical thinking.”
Comparing your work to high school:
“it's leaps and bounds above even the best piece of work.” -- “You learn how to properly structure arguments, how to frame points, and do so in compelling ways.”
(Don’t let your current skills block you!)
What advice would you give to someone who doesn’t really know what to do?
Keep your options open!
“In my opinion: Only after your undergrad (in grad school) should you figure out what you want to do.”
“The degree that you take in undergrad doesn’t close many doors” -- “There are many options, like going into law school, getting an MBA for business, or getting higher education with a masters or a PhD.”
“Take a subject that interests you right now at York, and see what programs are offered for said subject.”
So, what led you to choose McGill?
“I really had three schools: UBC, McGill, and UofT.”
“Living in Toronto, one felt too far, the other too close, so McGill was a good middle ground.”
“And as for French, you can speak as much or as little as you want -- All your classes will be in English, your friends will speak in English; everyone speaks English.”
What’s life like at McGill?
It’s a blast.
“It is a work hard, play hard sort of mentality.” -- “You can choose to be more party focused, more academic focus, but there’s a great balance.”
“The quality of the courses are very high” -- “we have great professors and teaching assistants.” -- “Helped mentor me into realizing the path I’m interested in”
“And, there are engaging courses offered in a broad range of subjects -- there's something for everyone.”
And Montréal..
“It’s an awesome city, a lot of fun.” “Always something going on: great night life, great food, great outdoor stuff.”
“I wouldn’t have wanted to go anywhere else”
(I was pretty hungry, so I also asked for some restaurant recommendations nearby):
“The best sushi restaurant is called Ryu.”, “Another really amazing restaurant is Liverpool House.”, “There’s also a very good Italian place called Impasto and a French one called Cadet.”
How are the extracurriculars?
“There's so much on offer -- you owe it to yourself to make the most of your time here and try as much as you can.”
“Some of the programs I’ve participated in include MUN (model united nations), a debate program, a political science academic journal, a young liberals club, as well as the urbanism club.”
What have been some of the challenges that you have faced after high school?
The transition from high school to uni was challenging!
“In terms of cut-offs, things are a lot more strict” -- “When I was at TYS, they were definitely more liberal with extensions, accommodations, and deadlines.”
“In uni, you get taught to adhere to schedules and deadlines.”
There is a learning curve -- but one that’s definitely overcomeable
“In my degree, I saw this especially with subjective activities like writing responses” -- “it can be marked pretty critically and is often up to your professor's interpretation.
“But, you always improve” -- “With essay writing, there are many variables that you continuously learn.”
You’re a lot more independent.
“Student support can definitely be harder to access than it was at The York School” -- “There’s no one forcing you to go to class, you don’t really have to do anything, so a lot more initiative is vested within you.”
What were some of your internship experiences? How did you find them valuable, even if they might not lead to your future career? What were some of your favorite moments?
“In university, one summer opportunity I had was interning at a coop for wealth management” -- “Even though it wasn’t related to my degree, I still found it insightful”
“The next summer, I got offered to work in the office of the then Minister of Mental Health”
I knew that I’d be a fool to pass this up
“I had found it so interesting, and it led me down a route I never looked back” -------------
“This past summer, I had the privilege of working in the office of the prime minister”
“Being the intern to his senior advisors, Justin Trudeau’s top, some of the things I got to do included outreach; policy briefs, such as to the PM, and prepare materials. I even got to go on tour with him, which was super cool.”
(To anybody interested, you’d have to wait for university, but it is centralized and you can choose where you’d want to apply, such as which office.)
An invaluable experience
“To be in that office exposed to these other people -- the best and the brightest, people who are passionate, who are driven, who are dedicated, who are smart, who all work towards this shared goal of making the world a better place.”
“One thing I got to learn was how to work in a team, such as how to perform my role
without overstepping on others.”
Pushed me to be the best that I could be -- And I got to work with Justin Trudeau.
How do you feel about your future now?
“Ultimately, I’m probably going into law school, but the choices still don’t end there.” -- “For instance, thinking about whether I would want to work at the UN, the World Bank, or go into something like geopolitical risk .
“The beauty of it is you can sort of go whichever way you want depending on what you're interested in, what careers you're interested in” -- “if you don’t choose a degree directly related to a job, you can bring something new to the table.”
“In the business world for instance, there’s a need for many people like those with economics or political science backgrounds, bringing their own subset of skills.”
What’s some final advice that you’d give, both someone thinking of fields like political science or more generally?
“If you’re passionate about something, you’ll be driven to do good work and the jobs will come.” -- “The undergrad shouldn’t be about making your career, it’s about exploring your passion.”
“Enjoy -- don't rush -- university.”
“Your undergrad will be some of the most fun years you’ll ever have: you’ll be surrounded by like-minded, smart, passionate, people.”
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