A path she didn't expect - Lancy ShangGuan, Class of 2020

Lancy, what are you doing now you have graduated from St Margaret's?
I’m currently studying Chemical Engineering at the University of Toronto and am about to go into my second year. Right now I’m on my summer break and doing an internship at a cancer diagnostics company, which has been a really interesting experience.

Is it what you expected to be doing when you left school?
Definitely not. When I left SMC, I genuinely thought I was going to end up doing Medicine, and I never imagined myself moving to Canada or studying engineering. Over time, I realised engineering suited me more than I expected. 

What has surprised you most about life after SMC?
Probably how different life feels after school. It almost feels like you suddenly get thrown into the real world, where there are so many more things to think about and worry about. You slowly realise you’re becoming an actual adult, which is both exciting and slightly terrifying at the same time. I think another thing that surprised me is how normal it is to not fully know what you want to do yet. At school it can sometimes feel like everyone has their future planned out, but once you get to university you realise most people are still figuring things out as they go.

Looking back, how did the International Baccalaureate Diploma prepare you for your next steps?
The International Baccalaureate definitely prepared me really well for university, especially engineering. A lot of the concepts and the workload overlapped, so academically the transition felt much smoother. But honestly, I think the most important thing IB taught me was how to handle pressure and stress. University can get overwhelming really quickly, and IB definitely helped me build the resilience needed to manage that environment.

What advice would you give to current students as they think about life beyond school?
I think my biggest advice would be not to stress too much about whether life turns out exactly the way you planned. Sometimes the paths you never expected end up being the right ones for you. It matters less where you end up, and more how you choose to deal with the challenges and opportunities along the way.