Emily Adam

Mechanical Engineering 2025… or 2026?
Mechatronics Option

A little bit about me…
Hi! I’m Emily, currently a third-year student who loves getting outside and exploring! Coming from a small (and I mean SMALL small) town in Ontario, living in Vancouver was a bit of an adjustment. However, with so much to offer in the city and surrounding area, I couldn’t imaging studying anywhere else. Since moving here, I began rock climbing, hiking, backpacking, and more! I typically spend my free time climbing, playing guitar and saxophone, and taking relaxing walks around campus. I have also spent a lot of time with my design team, Sustaingineering, working on our small-scale wind turbine project.

I wish I had known before I came…
Utilize office hours and take the time to really understand concepts. At UBC, you get the opportunity to learn about subjects you’re passionate about. Many people try to shove everything into their short-term memory and forget it completely after exams. To make the most of your education, I believe going deeper into course content and understanding the concepts is well worth it.

I chose mechanical engineering because…
I love things that move. As a kid, I would constantly be taking apart and reassembling pens, toys… basically anything I could get my hands on. Now, I get to built and take things apart as I learn more about them, and explore the field of robotics and making things move as part of my mechatronics specialization.

Mechanical engineering at UBC in one word…
Creative.

What I like best about my program…
I like the broad nature of the program. You get to learn so many different things, from professors who are very knowledgeable in their field. You get a very practical sense of what goes on in both industry and research, and are left with a world of possibilities. However, if you prefer to become more specialized in your degree, there are options to do that as well. The specializations allow your courses to be more focused in a specific area, but I also highly recommend learning more about your interests by taking opportunities and pursuing design teams, co-op, undergraduate research, and the many other things UBC has to offer.

Outside of the classroom, I am involved with…

  • Varsity Outdoor Club (awesome if you want to explore the outdoors scene around Vancouver!)
  • Sustaingineering design team (Wind Turbine Team, previous Project Manager)
  • MECH Student Services

Favourite moment/memory so far…
The highlight for me would definitely have to be preparing for the Mech 2 competition. My team and I got along great, which often led to us spending more time talking and getting bubble tea than we did working… After a few much needed days working until 1:00am, we fortunately created a functioning hovercraft and were happy with the end result.

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