When the University of Waterloo named Giang Tran '23 its Co-op Student of the Year, the reasons were hard to argue with.
Less than three years after graduating from St. Michaels University School, she had become the sole and first-ever design intern at Rootly AI, one of Canada's fastest-growing startups. From her first day, she was treated as a full contributor, shaping product, brand and marketing at a company serving Fortune 500 clients. She also designed a billboard that lit up Times Square in New York City — three months into her very first co-op term.
That is a significant body of work for someone who, not long ago, entered Dave Hlannon's Advanced Placement Computer Science class at SMUS with little to no coding background.
A School With Room to Grow
Giang grew up in Vietnam painting and drawing, always seeking environments where she was, in her words, “not the smartest person in the room". When searching for a boarding school in Canada, it came down to three prospects — all on Vancouver Island. What set SMUS apart was not a campus visit but an email exchange with a key SMUS teacher.
She had sent her artwork to several schools. Chris Bateman '94, Head of Visual Art, didn’t hesitate to write back with detailed, constructive feedback before she had even enrolled.
"That was the turning point for me to decide to go and be a part of the school," she said, highlighting the early impact SMUS teachers had on her.
Arriving as a Grade 11 student, SMUS's Advanced Placement (AP) program played a key role in allowing her the freedom to taste a bit of everything at once. She soaked up AP Art and Design and AP Art History under the mentorship of Chris Bateman '94 and Tamara Rusnak '90, respectively, alongside AP Computer Science, where she was a clear minority as a non-STEM focused student in the class. Dave Hlannon offered one-on-one sessions after school, working through coding problems with her for an hour or two at a time, without hesitation.
"He had unbelievable trust in me that I never had in myself," she said of her time with Hlannon. “I ended up with a high score on the exam, which was pretty amazing for me, as someone who had no prior background in technology.”
In AP Art and Design, she achieved a perfect score, earning every possible point on the college-level examination and placing among just 1.36 percent of students worldwide to do so.
But the school gave her more than academic results. Surrounded by students who excelled across academics, sports, and arts, she initially struggled with imposter syndrome. Slowly, she found her footing.
"I realized that everyone is their own unique puzzle with their own strengths, their own character and identity," she said.
That confidence showed up across everything she took on. Even as she was pushing into new territory in computer science, her artistic voice was finding its fullest expression yet. As Yearbook Editor-in-Chief in Grades 11 and 12, she led the publication to its first ever BC Regional Yearbook Cover Design Award.
She also founded United with Ukraine, organizing a performing arts concert that raised over $2,000 for educational materials sent to children in Ukraine. By the time she graduated, she had earned numerous awards for her contributions to visual arts and community service.
Carving Her Own Path
At the University of Waterloo, the threads continued to weave together. She was commissioned to create a 17-foot mural on diversity and inclusion for a university residence hall, and found her community in Socratica, a global maker's collective sponsored by Shopify, Anthropic, and Vercel. She presented her artistic journey to 3,000 people at her first Socratica Symposium.
When it came time to find a co-op placement, she took matters into her own hands, spending 30 days posting daily design experiments on Twitter until a post caught the attention of a manager at Rootly. Within 48 hours, she had the job.
After her co-op term, she returned to Waterloo and to Socratica, this time as Design Lead for a Symposium that drew close to 7,000 attendees to Waterloo.
"I chose SMUS and Waterloo to prove that my passion for art and design could translate into real-world impact," she said. "My time at both of these places has not only confirmed that belief, but fundamentally shaped my understanding of who I am as a designer and as a leader."
Advice for Current Students
For students drawn to art, design, or technology, or some combination they have not quite named yet, Giang's advice is straightforward: take the courses that seem like they do not go together, and talk to your teachers.
This fall, she heads to King's College London for an exchange semester, following a summer co-op term in San Francisco. Two more co-op terms stand between her and graduation, and already, the path ahead is wide open.
Less than three years ago, she was a student in these halls. Now she is designing for the world's biggest screens, building tools used by thousands of engineers, and proving what is possible when you refuse to stop reaching.
