Intersecting passion, community, and interests on campus
Ananya Aditya is a second-year forensic science student at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM). Originally from India, Aditya has studied in Hong Kong, Singapore, and now, Canada. Aditya refers to her experiences traveling as a “beautiful world trip.”
Aditya was sixteen years old when she found out that becoming a forensic medical examiner was her dream career path. Although shows like Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) got her attention, her passion has evolved to making the communities she’s a part of better by “decreasing crime rates, giving closure to families, and making society safer,” says Aditya. “I would love to be someone who is involved. For me, it’s always job satisfaction over the money.”
When Aditya first arrived in Canada in January of 2021, she had concerns about adjusting. The peak of a Canadian winter, coupled with news of several waves of Covid-19 affecting the country, had Aditya worried initially about the social repercussions. Nowadays, although she comes from generally warmer countries, Aditya says that she loves the beauty of a Canadian winter.
Popular television shows like CSI and Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) nurtured Aditya’s initial interest in forensics. Studying the field at UTM was exactly the opportunity that Aditya felt she needed. When asked about the program Aditya says, “It is pretty intense and stressful and we have to put in a lot of hours, and you really need a lot of stress busters to make it through.”
For Aditya, one of her main stress busters, as she calls it, is playing intramural badminton at the Recreation, Athletics & Wellness Centre (RAWC). Before coming to Canada, Aditya started playing badminton as a family activity with her parents. At her high school, Delia School of Canada, Aditya diverted attention away from badminton to play other sports, like swimming and basketball, but she was still familiar with the game.
When Aditya saw that badminton was an option in university, she was aiming to take her mind off her studies as well as introduce herself to different types of people. It seems that intramural sports did exactly that for her. Aditya says, “Keeping myself active, while also giving myself time away from work, really works out well for me. I would say socializing has been successful too. You have time before and after the games to familiarize yourself with the people you’re playing against and hopefully make some new friends.”
In previous profiles, a common theme for athletes was feeling nervous about getting started with a sport. Aditya mirrors this as she was worried about her skill level and how things would function with the RAWC reopening. But like many students who tried sports at the RAWC, her worries faded quickly. Looking back on her first experience Aditya says, “It was a really friendly, chill environment where you aren’t being judged for your skill. Instead, you’re playing for fun, and it’s like relaxation.”
It was refreshing to listen to Aditya’s excitement about getting into the forensic program at UTM. I was reminded of my first year and the enigmatic mindset of joining a new community. We hope that Aditya’s remaining time at UTM is a great experience and that the students can relate to the enthusiasm that Ananya Aditya has for UTM, badminton, and forensics.
Athletics Correspondent (Volume 48) — Robert is completing a Bachelor of Commerce, specializing in accounting. He has served as a staff writer for two years. Upon completing first year Robert was unsure of which programs were available to him and what to commit his time into. Curious, he took writing courses and began writing short stories on his free time which led him to The Medium. He loves the competition that sports brings and spends his time watching or playing Basketball, Tennis, or Soccer.