Surina, a Branksome Class of 2026 grad, will be heading to Harvey Mudd College in California to study engineering, drawn to a school that lets her keep pursuing both her love of math and science and her passion for the humanities. "I've always been interested in math and science, all that typical stuff you get with engineering," she says, "but I also really liked English and storytelling. The good thing about Harvey Mudd is you can study all your sciences and math, but there's also a requirement to do humanities as well, so I don't have to choose one over the other." She's planning to stay undecided within engineering for now, drawn by the freedom to explore disciplines before committing.

You develop this confidence, and you're not afraid to share your ideas because everybody's really supportive.

Surina credits her University Counsellor, Ms. Embury, with introducing her to a school that wasn't even on her radar. "There are so many more options than you think are out there," she says. "If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't even know about the school I'm committed to." Beyond the college list, she says Ms. Embury helped her find her voice in the application process itself. "She was really good at figuring out how to make my voice shine through the writing, instead of sounding robotic and academic." Surina also points to Branksome's rigorous IB course load, including HL Math and Physics, as preparation for what's ahead. "Even just having the resilience to persist through the difficulties these courses keep throwing at you, that problem-solving mindset is something I'll take with me no matter what."

Having joined Branksome in Grade 5, Surina says the school's girls environment shaped her more than she expected. "I didn't really understand why there was such a disproportion between women and men in STEM, because I grew up talking to other young women who were also interested in it," she reflects. "You develop this confidence, and you're not afraid to share your ideas because everybody's really supportive." That confidence followed her into a summer coding internship where she was the only woman on staff. "It didn't bother me, because I never let anything deter me," she says. "Branksome does a really good job of making sure everybody has a space and a voice, and you can apply that anywhere, no matter where you end up in the world."