This week’s profile features Maya Buchko, a second-year biomedical physiology student with dreams of pursuing a future in medicine! I met Maya back in elementary school and have always been inspired by her copious talents. She now juggles maintaining good grades in her difficult science courses at SFU, her job as a barista at Starbucks, and her many extra-curricular hobbies. Check out what Maya had to say when I interviewed her!
Major: Biomedical physiology
Grad Year: 2020
Age: 19
Instagram: @mayabuchko
Q: What are your goals/plans after you graduate from SFU?
A: My plan is to pursue further education in the medical field with an end goal of going on to medical school. I’m also open to many other careers in medicine and hope that through co-op I will be able to really explore and pinpoint what exactly in my field interests me the most and hopefully get a career doing that.
Q: What got you interested in pursuing biomedical physiology at SFU?
A: I’ve always found medical science fascinating and I love learning how everything in our body works so well together, so I found a program with classes that focus on these topics. There was also a lot of talk about how good the BPK department and professors were, and I liked the specificity of the program and how it caters to my interests.
Q: I know you’re also a barista at Starbucks! What is it like to balance school work and having a job?
A: I’ll admit, it can be difficult, especially when you have back to back exams, and sometimes it seems like there isn’t enough hours in the day to get everything done, but it’s all about making the most out of the study time you do have and finding compromises that work for you. I’ve also found that working at Starbucks has become a nice stress reliever when I’m in the middle of studying for exams because it gives my brain a break and lets the material sink in on its own. Plus, I need all the caffeine I can get for my late-night study sessions!
Q: What are some of your hobbies outside of school?
A: I like to paint, bake and play the guitar. It’s pretty hard to set aside a good block of time to do any of these things while school is in session, but when I do have time, it’s nice to really get into it. I’ve spent hours decorating a cake with the tiniest of detail, and days perfecting an art piece, but what interests me the most is the process of learning new tricks and ways to improve and then being able to share them with others.
Q: What is one thing you can’t live without?
A: Air.
In all honesty, though, I know it sounds a little cheesy, I would have to say my friends and family. Sometimes university can be challenging and you can have your ups and downs, but it’s so much easier if you don’t have to go through it alone. Having a support system to fall back on when you need it is really comforting and it makes the whole university experience a lot less stressful.
Q: What is some advice you could offer to a first-year student coming into your program at SFU?
A: Make sure to take classes that interest you. Ultimately, there will be some classes you don’t fall in love with, classes that you need for your degree or are pre reqs for later classes, but each semester try and take at least one class that you are actually excited for. It’s also a good idea to form study groups with the other students in your classes to make studying for the subjects you find most difficult way more enjoyable.