Emma Lozhkin

Systems Software Engineer, NVIDIA | 2017 Scholar

GETTING THE SCHOLARSHIP
“I was studying at the Toronto Public Library with a group of friends. I checked my email and it said, “Congratulations...” I thought, there's no way this is real! I completely froze. I was crying and gave my friend my phone. She read it and cried too!"

HOW IT STARTED

Born in 1999, Toronto, Ontario.

HOW IT'S GOING

"I am currently working as a Computer Vision/Data Engineer for a biotech company that develops microscopes that neuroscientists use to capture videos of the brain for research! I am also in my 4th year of Computer Engineering!"

“I was a competitive gymnast for most of my youth. In this sport, you need to have natural flexibility, good pointed toes, good hand-eye coordination to handle different apparatuses etc. But when I started gymnastics, I did not have any of that! I was always the bottom tier of the girls at her club. Over time, I trained incredibly hard, this taught me to be resilient, dedicated and patient with any type of work I want to do in life.”
“I'm lucky that I have a good relationship with my family. Being able to have a support system where I can rely on people and to be able to talk about anything and bounce ideas off them is important. I think that's something that's really important to build, whether that's your family, friends or even talking to different mentors at school.”

EMMA'S MAGIC

GO FOR IT!

Don’t listen to anybody that says you can't accomplish something that you want to do. Don’t listen to people who tell you that you can't achieve your goals because you're a girl or because you don't have the background in a subject. If you want to do something bad enough, you should definitely just go ahead and try to do it. Worst case, if it doesn't work out, but along the way, you'll likely find something that you like even more!

NEVER GIVE UP

Unlike a lot of my peers, when I entered engineering, I didn't have the full computer engineering background, my high school hadn’t offered a lot of courses on it. I felt like I was behind everybody. But coming from the world of gymnastics, where I also didn't have a natural talent for it initially, this taught me to never give up- even if I am not the best at something at the start.

TRY NEW THINGS

When I went to university, I tried joining a bunch of different clubs and it took awhile for any of them to stick, then I finally found one that I was super into. Don’t be afraid to try something new!

A ROLE MODEL

My sister is one of my top role models. When she was 10, she was diagnosed with a brain tumour but despite all that she has gone through, she still sprints and does track and field. My little sister doesn't give up and she has been a big example for me.

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