Mara with her favourite member from the band, Magic Man.
I first met Mara in the all-too popular AST101 class, a lecture consisting of more than 1000 students. Since meeting her, she has become one of my closest friends and confidantes in school and life. Despite her area of study as an undergraduate Rotman Commerce student at the University of Toronto, she has a passion for art, music, and literature. I had the pleasure of conducting a skype interview with her to talk about her unique experience as a student and how she divides her time between schoolwork, clubs, and friends.
Name: Mara Ng
Program of Study: Rotman Commerce
Area of Specialization: Management
Year of Study: 3
College: St. Michael’s College
Hometown: Manila, Philippines
Clubs: The Troubadours of SMC (Props, Treasurer), AIESEC (former Director of Marketing), Hart House Archery Club, Sailing Club, Newman, Campus Conservatives
Other: Grammateion, volunteering at music festivals
What is one interesting fact about you?
“The weirdest food I’ve eaten is ostrich. People say everything tastes like chicken, but it tastes like beef.”
What’s your favourite band?
“I like so many different bands, but I will just say, Magic Man. I saw them live for the first time this year after one of my good friends took me to the concert.”
Favourite book/franchise?
“Lord of the Rings! It’s the best thing ever. If you haven’t watched/read it, you are missing out on life.”
What is your favourite literature quote?
“The first one that comes to mind is, ‘Let us draw the curtain of charity over the rest of this scene’, from The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, by Mark Twain.”
Favourite quote in general?
“That would have to be, ‘What embitters the world is not excess of criticism, but an absence of self-criticism’, by G.K. Chesterton. It’s a good reminder not to be so selfish.”
What is your favourite musical theatre show?
“The first one that got me into theatre was The Fantasticks. Hamilton is also amazing, and obviously there’s Les Mis, Wicked, Into the Woods – there are way too many good ones!”
What is one place in the world you would like to visit?
“Europe – I’ve never been, and I definitely need to see it. I’d go to either the UK or Italy, just because there are a lot of historical sites I want to see.”
What are some things currently on your bucket list?
“Taking a road trip across North America, backpacking through Europe, hot air ballooning across the Grand Canyon, hiking up to Machu Picchu, and going to Hobbiton in New Zealand.”
Rotman Commerce students have a notorious reputation for being cut-throat and competitive. Is that true?
“In general, especially with people who are go-getters, it is definitely competitive. I’ve heard rumours about students finding resources and not sharing them with others. Or they might have answers about which internships to look for and they don’t let other people know. But it’s definitely not everybody. These are horror stories, and as usual, it is the horror stories that stand out.”
Do you have any advice to other students about avoiding competition?
“The longer you stay in Rotman, the better you’ll understand how to navigate it. You’ll meet people who are like-minded. The more you are around those people, the less competitive it will feel. I decided not to surround myself too much with people too interested in business. I wanted to see what else UofT and Toronto had to offer.”
Mara is in the bottom row, the second girl from the right.
Was it difficult to choose an area of specialization?
“The thing with concentrations within management is that they don’t offer many choices or courses relating to it. Personally, I’d like a concentration in operations, but there isn’t an option for it. There also aren’t many operations courses. However, I understand they want us to take other courses to make sure we have a proper business background. If I wanted to go really specialized, I could have chosen finance or accounting, but I have so many interests that I chose management. It gives me the flexibility to study things like Latin or participate in theatre.”
Mara is in the second row, the 2nd from the right.
I can see from your profile that you’re involved in a lot of clubs. How do you manage your time between schoolwork, co-curricular activities, and friends?
“It’s difficult because you never have a consistent schedule. I find that leaving your schedule fluid (not planning something for every hour), making sure you have your priorities straight, and making sure you get done what needs to be done first, helps. I can manage the things I do because I actually like the activities I take part in.”
Do you have any advice for first-years about time-management?
“Take your time; you have four years, pick two or three things for now. One thing my brother told me before I went to university is you can only pick three things in college out of four and give up everything else: school, friends, extra-curricular activities, and sleep. I chose school work, extra-curricular activities, and sleep at first, but it later evolved into me ditching sleep for friends. Now it really just depends on the week.”
You’re originally from the Philippines, where you grew up and attended home school. What has it been like living away from home and adjusting to life in Canada for the last 2+ years?
“In the beginning it was a really big challenge because I had no family here, and in Asian culture our parents like to be there for most of the things that we do. It was strange to have all of this independence. After a couple of weeks, I realized that my American homeschooling program had made me more similar to Canadians than I thought. And I also learned new things, new interests, and sides to my character that I never knew existed.”
What has your experience been like living on residence your first and second years of university?
“First year was a little isolated because Teefy was pretty small and tame – it was good not to wake up in the middle of the night to people partying. It was also convenient because having to come to a new country, living in a new apartment, in a new city, would have been a big adjustment. Proximity was also a plus.
“Second year I lived on a larger floor with people I didn’t know and it was interesting. Having so many friends from the same residence also presents its own challenges. A part of growing up and life is that you have people who remain close friends and other people who come and go. In the end you might learn something that leaves you bruised and battered, but you’re better for it.
“The only issue I have with residence is the expense, especially with the meal plan. I also prefer to cook for myself than to have to eat cafeteria food all the time. This is why I’m not on residence this year. I did meet some of my closest friends on residence, so I have no regrets staying in res for the first two years.
Mara in residence.
What is one thing you will miss about living on residence?
“One thing I will miss is being constantly in touch with all of my friends from residence. It will take more of an effort to hang out with people. But each year is new, it’s always different. Yet somehow, we always find ways to make the most of what we have.”
You can find Mara on campus adopting used books from library sale tables, working on the next Troubadours production, and hanging around her favourite SMC folks.