The resilient young Mr. Ramiz

By Lynette Piper

Despite the challenges that life has thrown at Rashique Ramiz, the graduate student from the Kenneth Levene Graduate School of Business has landed on his feet and procured his dream co-op placement at the Child Trauma Research Centre. Turns out that, as much as Ramiz is getting out of the placement, the Centre is getting much more from him.

University of Regina master’s student Rashique Ramiz remembers the day his world changed forever. He had just started a co-op term as the IT communications specialist with the newly-established Child Trauma Research Centre (CTRC). His wife, Faeqa Farooq, was four months pregnant with their first child, and the happy young couple was overjoyed at how their life in Canada was unfolding. Then, on September 29, Ramiz was jolted awake at 5:15 a.m. by the persistent buzz of his cell phone. Panicked, he answered the long-distance call from Bangladesh, bracing for news no child ever wants to hear: his beloved father was gravely ill with a high fever.

“I knew in my heart that something wasn’t right. My mother and sister were crying and I felt so helpless and so far away,” says the quiet, introspective student from the Kenneth Levene Graduate School of Business. Within an hour, his father was gone.

As the only son and eldest of two children, Ramiz sprang into action to help his family in Bangladesh. Even though he couldn’t travel and there was a 12-hour time difference between the two countries, Ramiz used his business acumen to sort through company orders, payroll and staffing concerns of his late father’s struggling business. Since that fateful September day, his schedule has been relentless.

Beginning at 9 a.m., he works a full day from home for the Child Trauma Research Centre. He then takes over cooking and cleaning duties to help out his wife and tends to their infant daughter, Raizel. Then, from 9 p.m. until 1:00 a.m., he manages his dad’s Bangladeshi business from afar. “The company is barely making enough money to pay salaries and is operating at a loss,” he confides. “I’ve been trying to sell the business, but with COVID-19, times are hard and no one wants to buy. These are very unpredictable times, but I am not giving up. I like a challenge, and I don’t need much sleep. So far, I’ve been able to manage affairs back home plus take on all of the opportunities with my co-op placement.”

Anyone facing similar circumstances would probably have reason to be a little morose, but Ramiz is the kind of person who radiates positivity. His can-do attitude and unbridled resourcefulness have earned him the admiration and respect of his colleagues, in particular his supervisor, Dr. Nathalie Reid, CTRC’s director.

“I used to be a high school teacher and I’ve always believed that youth are our future,” she enthuses. “Rashique’s story is so compelling. He’s helping to shape our future by being the focal point of our values and our mission. His creativity, IT and digital knowledge, along with his data analysis, are helping us better respond to child trauma issues at home and abroad, with the ultimate goal of helping to prevent child trauma.”

The CTRC was established at the University of Regina in March of 2020 to focus attention on issues and research pertaining to child trauma and its impacts on child and youth mental health and well-being.

Ramiz and his wife, Faeqa Farooq, were both accepted for postgraduate diplomas at Canadore College in North Bay, Ontario where Ramiz earned a certificate in project management and IT with academic honours in 2019.
Ramiz and his wife, Faeqa Farooq, were both accepted for postgraduate diplomas at Canadore College in North Bay, Ontario where Ramiz earned a certificate in project management and IT with academic honours in 2019.

Until the Centre’s founding, Saskatchewan lacked the research services to co-ordinate knowledge of child trauma across diverse sectors, programs and stakeholders. The CTRC focuses on multidisciplinary research and collaborates with the Ministries of Health, Justice, Education and Social Services, as well as other agencies across Canada. This is helping mitigate the causes of child trauma and its long-term impacts, which will help spur transformational change, not only in Saskatchewan, but around the globe.

“Child trauma is far more common than we think,” says Reid. “Any child from any background or socioeconomic group can be living with trauma. Traumatic events such as poverty, addiction, domestic abuse, neglect and violence in the home can dramatically impact a young person’s life. When these lives are derailed, the community at large bears the consequences – from public services that are burdened to employers unable to benefit from a young person’s potential.”

The CTRC became an official entity on March 10, 2020. One day later, the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. “I met with the team and said ‘If we can’t be relevant now, and respond to how COVID-19 will impact children and their teachers, then we don’t deserve our jobs.’ So we got to work with coinciding research projects to support those in child-serving capacities, including attending to the dramatic mental health impacts of COVID-19, and ultimately, how this has impacted the mental state of teachers, administrators and school staff,” says Reid.

Dr. Nathalie Reid
Dr. Nathalie Reid, director of the Child Trauma Research Centre.

Being able to respond on an international scale meant having someone on the team able to tackle the digital demands of the CTRC. Ramiz fit the bill. Before coming to Canada, he received his undergraduate degree in Electronics and Telecommunications Engineering in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Anxious to come to Canada, he and his wife were both accepted for postgraduate diplomas at Canadore College in Ontario, where Ramiz obtained a certificate in Project Management
and IT with academic honours. He was then accepted into the Kenneth Levene Graduate School of Business at the U of R where he’s pursuing his master’s of Administration in Leadership.

“Rashique has absolutely wowed us with his ability to get our website up and running (www.childtraumaresearch.ca), build our Digital Connections Hub, research and develop secure data storage, and help us throughout every stage of operation,” says Reid. “His willingness to do whatever it takes to get the ball rolling has really impressed the entire team.”

Ramiz blushes at the compliments, humbled at his good fortune. He admits he was scared at first, but says he was welcomed into the fold by colleagues who are “just like family.” He adds that CTRC’s culture of inclusion has helped him build his confidence.

His first project was to develop the Digital Connections Hub, an online resource for those in child-serving capacities to support vulnerable children and families in the midst of the pandemic and beyond. The website synthesizes a vast quantity of research and translates it into two-page briefs and information posters. Feedback on the Hub has come in from as far away as the Philippines. Ramiz developed a collection of infographics and poster material for the Hub that can be easily digested by different age groups. “We’re on all of the social media channels like Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter,” he says. “I’m also making child wellness posters that young kids can relate to about mental well-being.”

Ramiz’s second project was to develop a three-part survey in conjunction with the Faculty of Education. “The first part of the survey dealt with the reality of what Canadian teachers, administrators and school staff faced when the pandemic first hit,” he explains. “We came up with multiple photos of a teacher sanitizing a desk and trying to maintain safe distance in the classroom. We then offered 21 anecdotal responses that a teacher could apply to those photos, from hostile, afraid and nervous to excited, inspired and enthusiastic. While teachers have had to focus on the educational needs of students, they’ve also been faced with huge stress in re-thinking the way they teach.”

Ramiz says they wanted to make sure the responses were analyzed accurately. “We did our coding based on the responses and created groupings from somewhat positive to somewhat negative to get the exact emotional response,” he says.

The second part of the survey was then sent to teachers, administrators and school staff when schools reopened after the lockdown. The third part of the survey, released in May, focused on the mental health and wellbeing of those same stakeholders in the midst of the vaccination rollout.

“What the survey is showing us is that teachers need more funding from governments to balance the educational and health needs of children during COVID-19,” he says. “Based on our results, teachers are afraid for their own health and that of their students.”

Future projects for Ramiz include: developing a website for a conference called Supporting Systemic Responses to Sexual Violence in conjunction with the Regina Sexual Assault Centre; designing a non-credit professional certificate in trauma-sensitivity and trauma-informed practices; and participating in the writing of grant proposals. Ramiz is also working with a team to help develop resilience in schools by creating a neurological-based tool kit for vulnerable kids.

Rashique Ramiz
Ramiz says that Saskatchewan has been so welcoming to him and his family that he wants to stay, raise his kids in the province and give back to the community.

“Rashique was hired as a communications person, but we’re discovering he has so much more to offer the CTRC,” Reid says. “His skills and insight are invaluable.”

Ramiz believes it was fate that landed him such meaningful work – a chance to gain insight into his own difficult past and use the lessons learned to help others facing trauma.

“Oh boy, how much time do we have?” the 29-year-old asks, unsure where to begin. “My father moved us around a lot, going from one failed business to another. He always had big dreams, investing all of his money, but those dreams never materialized. Whenever the business would go bad, the whole family was affected. I never really made friends because we were always moving,” he confides. “I was a very skinny boy and I have scoliosis (curvature of the spine), so the public-school uniforms never fit. The pants were always very loose. One day, one of the boys pulled them right off me, in front of my classmates, and I remember crying as I ran back home.”

Ramiz and his bride Faeqa Farooq pose on their wedding day with members of Ramiz’s family. (Back row, left to right) Ramiz’s mother Mahbuba Parveen, sister Reyan, and his late father Mohammad Liaquat Hossain. The photo was taken in Dhaka, Bangladesh in December 2016.
Ramiz and his bride Faeqa Farooq pose on their wedding day with members of Ramiz’s family. (Back row, left to right) Ramiz’s mother Mahbuba Parveen, sister Reyan, and his late father Mohammad Liaquat Hossain. The photo was taken in Dhaka, Bangladesh in December 2016.

 

Ramiz pauses for a moment, as if reliving that difficult memory. “I had to wear a thick belt to keep my muscles strong because of my back,” he continues. To this day, he must take breaks every hour so excruciating pain doesn’t set in. “Because of my condition, I lived through a lot of mental trauma of being devalued by relatives and friends. It haunted me for a long time, which affected my confidence.”

Ramiz remembers travelling to another country when he was older, and his belt got him confused with a terrorist.
“I had a big beard and I was harassed by security because they thought I was a suicide bomber, pointing to my big belt and beard. I think that’s the reason my father changed my last name, but it didn’t really help in that situation.” Ramiz and his family are Bangladeshi Muslim. He says his father, Mohammed Hossain, didn’t want his children to experience the same kind of intolerance that he experienced, so he changed the kids’ last names from Hossain to Ramiz so they might escape overt racism.

“Because my family moved so much, I did not have good grades and I struggled with English. The first time I applied to the U of R, my application was rejected,” he admits.

Ramiz’s positive outlook and unflappable resolve have earned him the reputation of someone who is helping shape the kind of world in which we all want to live. His tenacity to set the bar extremely high in his co-op position, while single-handedly managing an overseas business late into the night so he can provide for his mother and sister in Bangladesh, is one of the reasons why Ramiz has endeared himself to so many.

Ramiz continues to give his all in every aspect of his life. The late cultural anthropologist Margaret Mead said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” Although she died nearly two decades before Ramiz was born, one could argue that Mead was envisioning a world made better by people like Ramiz. “I keep reminding myself that I am extremely lucky to be here and getting the education that I am,” he says thoughtfully. “Now that I am a father, I have even more reason to make the world a better place.”

You can support a student like Rashique by making a secure online gift today by visiting  giving.uregina.ca/studentsuccess. Your gift and your belief in your University builds a solid foundation of support for students.

About the Author

Lynette Piper is an award-winning writer and former government communicator and journalist who is now pursuing her BFA in Film Production at the U of R. Outside of school, she’s involved with several production companies utilizing her creative writing, producing and voiceover talents. Her passions include mental health advocacy and documenting the lives of prairie pioneers.

Photos by Trevor Hopkins, University of Regina Photography Department and courtesy of Rashique Ramiz.
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A World Series champion. An NBA coach. A professional hockey player. All women. All University of Regina alumnae or former Cougars athletes. All working in fields traditionally dominated by men.

Because, the truth is, nothing is impossible, according to Anita Sehgal BAdmin'94 and senior vice president of Marketing and Communications with the Houston Astros.

"If you work hard,  are patient and take advantage of opportunities that come your way, you could end up living anywhere and doing anything you want."

Sehgal did just that. She knew from her time at the U of R that she wanted to have a career in marketing. She enjoyed the balance of creativity with data analytics and customer insight. Self-described as a curious and life-long learner, she has spent over 25 years in strategic marketing functions with organizations including The Forzani Group, Best Buy, Academy Sports + Outdoors, and currently the Houston Astros.

"She's incredibly positive. Her work ethic is ridiculous. She's very intelligent and understands things quickly," he says.

Growing up with brothers Arun and Pankaj, Sehgal spent a great deal of time outdoors and at Regina's Pasqua Rec Centre. Her love of sport was fostered early on with a passion for basketball, football and hockey. To this day, she is a diehard Saskatchewan Roughriders fan and attends nearly every Grey Cup.

"I was in love with sports and was pretty fascinated by the business of sports too," Sehgal says. "If an opportunity came up or I had an opportunity to do marketing and do it in an industry or a category that I liked, I would naturally gravitate there."

While Sehgal credits taking advantage of opportunities that arise, her long-time Regina friend, U of R graduate and former Cougars hockey player, Curtis Kleisinger BEd'96, BA'99, says her success is also a result of who she is and where she came from.

"She's incredibly positive. Her work ethic is ridiculous. She's very intelligent and understands things quickly," he says. "I think she's tough enough to be in that male-dominated world because she grew up with her brothers."

When Sehgal joined the Houston Astros in January 2015, they were the worst team in Major League Baseball. Sehgal was committed to helping turn the team's fortunes around and by 2017, she was planning a World Series championship parade. But that wasn't her only focus.

Curtis Kleisinger, Sehgal's long-time friend, U of R graduate and former Cougars hockey player. Curtis Kleisinger, Sehgal's long-time friend, U of R graduate and former Cougars hockey player.

"I think what's great about the journey is that you get to impact how people feel about the organization's commitment to the city and commitment to creating a team that people want to cheer for and support. We were able to do that and we were able to celebrate these great moments that we've had," she says.

"We won the World Series in a year that Houston had one of its most tragic experiences because of Hurricane Harvey. The fact that the Houston Astros could bring hope and joy to people when they needed it the most was pretty great. The great thing about working for a professional sports organization is it's in their DNA to give back to the community. And so, you have this opportunity to really make an impact in the community because you're tied to a sports organization."

Sehgal, who has spent more than 25 years in strategic marketing functions, describes herself as a curious, life-long learner. (Photo courtesy of Anita Sehgal.)

Kleisinger notes how important it has always been for Sehgal to give back, whether it's helping Houston through Hurricane Harvey or being there for underprivileged youth through the Boys and Girls Club of Houston. She even does what she can from afar to support Regina organizations, such as Mother Teresa Middle School, which serves youth in Grades 6 to 8 living in poverty.

As the school director, Kleisinger has witnessed the positive impact of her financial support and equipment donations for the school over the past ten years. He notes, "She never forgets where she came from. She shares. She allows people to share in her success."

"I just feel very honoured that I had an opportunity to help. I will always want to make sure that, no matter what happens in life, I get a chance to continue to give back to the place I grew up in and where my family is," says Sehgal.

"I grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan, and I never imagined that I would have some of the job opportunities that I did, but I feel very fortunate that I have.  I've had some great coaches and mentors, and hopefully, I can make a difference as well."

Sometimes Saskatchewan values are what draws people to the province - even when they have no idea just how a chance connection could change their lives.

Growing up in California, former Cougars women's basketball player Sidney Dobner never imagined she would be a student-athlete in Saskatchewan, let alone coach in the National Basketball Association. (Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Bucks.) Growing up in California, former Cougars women's basketball player Sidney Dobner never imagined she would be a student-athlete in Saskatchewan, let alone coach in the National Basketball Association. (Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Bucks.)

Growing up and spending her first college years playing basketball in California, Sidney Dobner never dreamed she would end up living in Saskatchewan or coaching in the National Basketball Association (NBA). And yet one opportunity made the other entirely possible, in a roundabout way.

"At the end of the day I'm just lucky that I'm doing something that I love. For me, it's coaching in the NBA that's my dream. It doesn't feel like work," says Dobner from Milwaukee, where she is currently a video assistant and player development coach with the Bucks. She spends her days on the court with the players, putting them through drills, guarding, rebounding and helping them improve.

The rest of her time is spent in the video room, analyzing pre- and post-game film, pulling clips and feeding the assistant and head coaches with information regarding the offensive game.

Her journey goes back to 2012 and the day she met up with a friend from high school, Michelle Clark. Clark had spent the previous season playing with the U of R Cougars women's basketball team, and connected Dobner with Cougars head coach Dave Taylor, who was looking for a point guard.

Dobner was injured at the time but flew to Regina to play in an exhibition tournament.

"You could see she just loved the game," Taylor says. "She was a great player and played with tremendous energy."

Her energy and enthusiasm for basketball led her through the next four seasons with the Cougars. She spent her first year red-shirting because of eligibility rules, and then five games into the following season she tore her ACL. The tear led to a fractured tibia, which meant another season on the bench.

"Finally, the next season, I was able to step on the floor with my giant knee brace and it was such a relief to get out there.

Dave Taylor, Cougars women's basketball head coach, had the pleasure of coaching Dobner for three and a half years. Dave Taylor, Cougars women's basketball head coach, had the pleasure of coaching Dobner for three and a half years.

The game really slowed down for me, because I was able to learn so much on the sidelines," she says. "I took so much of that time sitting out just watching game film because that was all I could do, that it became like a habit just watching every game, not just me but everybody else. And for me that progressed, at least on the coaching side of things, my career tremendously."

Her energy and enthusiasm for basketball led her through the next four seasons with the Cougars. She spent her first year red-shirting because of eligibility rules, and then five games into the following season she tore her ACL. The tear led to a fractured tibia, which meant another season on the bench.

"Finally, the next season, I was able to step on the floor with my giant knee brace and it was such a relief to get out there. The game really slowed down for me, because I was able to learn so much on the sidelines," she says. "I took so much of that time sitting out just watching game film because that was all I could do, that it became like a habit just watching every game, not just me but everybody else. And for me that progressed, at least on the coaching side of things, my career tremendously."

Dobner wore number 13 during her tenure with the Cougars. (Photo courtesy of U of R Athletics.) Dobner wore number 13 during her tenure with the Cougars. (Photo courtesy of U of R Athletics.)

Taylor says Dobner naturally took on the role of mentor and player-coach during her years with the Cougars, especially when she couldn't be on the court. He says that, looking back, Dobner seemed to already know where her future was heading with the amount of time she spent watching video.

"She was almost like one of the coaching staff and then it was great because players would come off and she talked to them and she really understood. Obviously, she always wanted to get back on the floor," Taylor says. "Whenever she was on the floor, she helped us even more. It also just gave her a look at another side of the game - just looking at it strictly from a coaching-type perspective instead of just on the floor."

When Dobner finished playing with the Cougars, she played professionally for a year in the Netherlands with the FSG Royal Eagles. It was a young, rebuilding team and once again Dobner found herself in the role of mentor. When she fractured her heel at the end of the season, she decided to take the assistant coach position at Cal Lutheran University her college coach back in California offered to her. She simultaneously coached youth basketball for a team run by Don MacLean, a former NBA player. He invited her to help on the court at a pre-draft NBA camp with Creative Artists Agency. The next summer she was invited back to Pro Day, which is when NBA general managers, coaches and scouts come to watch the players.

"I was out there on the court, doing the normal workout, passing, rebounding," Dobner says. "The workout ended and I was packing up my stuff when these guys walked over to me. They asked me who I was and would I ever be interested in working in the NBA. I was thinking to myself, 'This can't be real.' "

After a few weeks, she was invited to fly out to Milwaukee to put some of the Bucks through a workout.

"The next thing I knew I was signed up to join the NBA G league (the NBA's official minor league) as an assistant video coordinator a month later, with no experience in video coordinating. Then I worked my way up from there within different roles to where I'm at right now. It's been an exhausting role, but I love it."

Taylor feels she was recognized by the NBA because she is passionate, committed and talented. "That's typical Sid - everything she does, she just goes all in. She does it as well as she possibly can."

What's next for Dobner? To keep climbing and taking advantage of every opportunity that comes her way.

"My goal is to keep moving forward," she says. "At the end of the day, I really just want to be a part of a program where the players get better and they are able to win a championship with, hopefully, my help."

In 2020, former U of R Cougars star Jaycee Magwood signed to play for MODO in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. MODO is one of 10 teams in the Svenska damhockeyligan league, the top level of women's hockey in Sweden. (Photo by Mats Bekkevold.) In 2020, former U of R Cougars star Jaycee Magwood signed to play for MODO in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. MODO is one of 10 teams in the Svenska damhockeyligan league, the top level of women's hockey in Sweden. (Photo by Mats Bekkevold.)

Pursuing her passion also led Jaycee Magwood BKin'20 to Saskatchewan, although Killarney, Manitoba, is not quite as far away as California. Magwood joined the University of Regina women's hockey program in 2015.

After spending her younger years playing recreational hockey with some friendly competition from her twin brother, she played Midget AAA for five years and then decided to join the Cougars to continue her hockey career.

"I thought it would be a really good fit for me both academically and hockey-wise," Magwood says.

Sarah Hodges, head coach of the Cougars women's hockey team, said the Cougars were lucky to have Magwood come to them and contribute so heavily over her five years with the team.

Like many women playing hockey, Magwood at first assumed that her playing career would be over after university. But then another opportunity arose. Finnish-born Venla Hovi, first a player and later an assistant coach with the University of Manitoba Bisons, reached out to Magwood in her fifth season, offering to help her find a team to play for in Europe.

Sarah Hodges, head coach of the Cougars women's hockey team, says the team was fortuante to have Magwood contribute so heavily over her five years. Sarah Hodges, head coach of the Cougars women's hockey team, says the team was fortuante to have Magwood contribute so heavily over her five years.

"I don't know if I would be playing over here if it wasn't for her," says Magwood from her current home in northern Sweden, where she just finished her first season with MODO Hockey in the Svenska damhockeyligan league.

The U of R Cougars certainly prepared her for professional hockey. Magwood says the schedule isn't quite as intense as balancing university classes and hockey.

"It's pretty much just hockey," she says. "We have off-ice strength and conditioning training Monday through Thursday, along with morning skill sessions and then team practices in the afternoon. On the weekends, we usually play two or three games."

While this season was a bit different without fans in the stands due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Magwood says the media coverage is exceptional and they receive quite a bit of support. She hopes to return next season and continue her career in the league which has quite a high level of play. "There are players from the national teams over here in Europe," she says. "Very, very skilled players who lead their national teams."

: Magwood is one of just three players in Cougars women's hockey history to score 100 points or more. She was a three-time recipient of Canada West second-team all-star honours, named to the CIS All-Rookie Team year and finished with 48 goals and 53 assists. : Magwood is one of just three players in Cougars women's hockey history to score 100 points or more. She was a three-time recipient of Canada West second-team all-star honours, named to the CIS All-Rookie Team year and finished with 48 goals and 53 assists.

Hodges can see how Magwood would fit in. In her opinion, "The hockey ability is there. She has some things that not all players have. She has the offensive abilities and her ability to score."

Playing in Sweden has also caused Magwood to think about her future in hockey beyond playing. "I always thought coaching would be a really cool avenue to continue being involved in the sport," she says.

"There are so many opportunities to be able to stay involved in the game. That's definitely something I'm more interested in now than I think I've ever been."

Hodges can see how Magwood would fit in. In her opinion, "The hockey ability is there. She has some things that not all players have. She has the offensive abilities and her ability to score."

Playing in Sweden has also caused Magwood to think about her future in hockey beyond playing. "I always thought coaching would be a really cool avenue to continue being involved in the sport," she says. "There are so many opportunities to be able to stay involved in the game. That's definitely something I'm more interested in now than I think I've ever been."

Magwood may very well become a coach one day. The one thing all three of these women have proven is that anything is possible when you have the drive to succeed, a relentless work ethic, a willingness to take advantage of new opportunities and a strong support system.  

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Standing outside a warehouse in the industrial area of Regina, you can hear the thunk, thunk, thunk of golf balls ricocheting off wooden gutters. Once inside, you'll see almost a dozen mini-golf courses, each with its own theme - everything from Carnival Crazy to Saloon Old West to Tropical Adventure. What you won't see, however, is a single player. Putters are controlled by robots operated in real time by people all over North America, who are playing through an app on their mobile devices.

OneShot Golf was created by University of Regina graduates Andrew Burant BA'14, BAdmin'14, Tim Borgares BSc'12 and Ryan Donohue BSc'18. The trio met years ago while working on another mobile app, GasBuddy. At the time, it was one of the only reputable startup
tech companies in Regina. It was also among the first consumer crowdsourcing platforms in the world, predating Wikipedia. OneShot Golf's chief technical officer Tim Borgares. He says that the U of R is well represented in the company. In addition to the three principals, OneShot Golf employs graduate Denis Leanca BSc'20 and, at the time of writing, had four U of R co-op students and interns working for the firm. OneShot Golf's chief technical officer Tim Borgares. He says that the U of R is well represented in the company. In addition to the three principals, OneShot Golf employs graduate Denis Leanca BSc'20 and, at the time of writing, had four U of R co-op students and interns working for the firm.

After GasBuddy was successfully sold, the graduates moved on to other projects. Borgares and GasBuddy co-founder Dustin Coupal began working on an agricultural technology project that would allow people to operate farm machinery remotely. There was a snag, though. "We found that none of the video you expect to be live - YouTube Live or Twitch, for example - is truly real-time live. It is multiple seconds delayed," says Borgares. "When you're turning a combine in a field, you need it to be 100 per cent in real time, so when you press right, it goes right immediately. That wasn't really possible."

The team started developing technology to solve that problem. They realized that this novel approach could be used in the gaming and e-sports industry, and OneShot Golf and its "connected reality" technology was born. "This technology lets anybody with a mobile phone connect to and control robotics completely in real time," says Borgares. "I'm not aware of any other platform like this. It's about connecting people, connecting robotics and creating empowering experiences."

The mini-golf app allows friends to play competitively against one another and win prizes. Many can't believe the courses they're seeing on their phones are real, so OneShot Golf employs "hosts" who sit on the course and encourage players. "It's hard to argue that Emma (one of the hosts) isn't real," laughs Borgares. The app was launched across North America in January 2021 and averages about 15,000 putts a day. It has received overwhelmingly positive reviews.

Ryan Donohue works on the mobile app and internal management dashboard for the company. Ryan Donohue works on the mobile app and internal management dashboard for the company.

Why mini golf? The goal was creating a competitive sporting experience that stands out from the myriad virtual mini-golf games in the marketplace. "We wanted to create an experience, especially during the pandemic, that resonated with people who can't get out there and play real golf," recounts Borgares. "Here in Saskatchewan, what would you rather be doing in the dead of winter than going outside and golfing?"

Burant serves as project manager and robotics administrator, Borgares is a co-founder and chief technical officer, and Donohue works on the mobile app and internal management dashboard. They all say their U of R experience prepared them for success in operating their own startup. Borgares and Donohue are graduates of the computer science program, while Burant has degrees in arts and business administration.

Donohue says, "University prepared me to work on a team and also as an individual. As a team, you can bounce ideas off one another and work it out together, but sometimes you have to work through it yourself and make your own decisions."

 "It helped me think critically and approach problem solving in a different way," Burant notes. "It teaches you to look at the big picture and focus on what's important. It's important to have those foundational skills and that background to decide how to approach problems."

 "In the startup world, you end up wearing a lot of different hats and doing a lot of different things," Borgares adds. "In my experience at the U of R, I learned about various parts of technology and aspects in the computer science realm. The breadth of knowledge you gain is useful when you go into the startup world. When something needs to get done, you just have to do it, because no one is going to do it for you."

Andrew Burant serves as project manager and robotics administrator for OneShot Golf. Andrew Burant serves as project manager and robotics administrator for OneShot Golf. Donohue says that his time at the U of R also taught him time management and prioritization. "Often in startups,
stuff flies in from different directions at any given time. It was the same thing at school - you have a bunch of finals and assignments coming in. You need to understand how to prioritize when time is not an infinite resource."

OneShot Golf is the first product the team has released in the marketplace. They plan to build on its success and expand to more users and places. "What we're building is a new and powerful technology that we hope to integrate into other industries and really drive a lot of connection and change," says Borgares.

Another computer science graduate who has co-founded a successful startup is Jordan Howlett BSc'13, MSc'14. He's the engineering manager for Bunch, an app that allows people to video chat with friends while playing mobile games. It's similar to being at a local area network (LAN) party or a Nintendo round with friends on the same couch, but you can access it anytime, anywhere, on your smartphone.

Jordan Howlett earned his master's degree from the U of R in 2013. He is one of the co-founders and engineering manager for Bunch, an app that allows people to video chat with friends while playing mobile games. The company has grown into a 30-person operation with offices in Waterloo, Toronto, Vancouver, New York and San Francisco. Jordan Howlett earned his master's degree from the U of R in 2013. He is one of the co-founders and engineering manager for Bunch, an app that allows people to video chat with friends while playing mobile games. The company has grown into a 30-person operation with offices in Waterloo, Toronto, Vancouver, New York and San Francisco.

Bunch began three years ago as an app that allowed users to play games while video chatting. The developers originally focused on creating their own games for the app. "Later in the project, we realized that people already have games they love to play, and we could make their experience better," Howlett says. Bunch began focusing on linking their chat app with third-party games such as Minecraft, Fortnite, Call of Duty and Roblox. "We try to support any multiplayer game. It's about creating a real-time experience with your friends. We want people to have a shared experience and laugh over it."

 Due to the challenges of social isolation, Bunch was rapidly adopted around the world in mid-March 2020. It soon made the top 20 social apps lists in 17 countries, the top 100 social apps lists in 35 countries and the top 100 free apps lists in the entire Apple App Store.

While thousands were using the app in February 2020, by March, people were opening Bunch millions of times a month, spending over a million minutes a day on the app.

With the coronavirus redefining how people socialize, Bunch is becoming more and more relevant. "Even though we've been working on this product for a couple of years, it was pretty much built for the pandemic," says Howlett. "Everyone was trapped at home, they couldn't see their friends, they couldn't do anything. We were able to provide something fun for them to do with their friends while they were at home."

He welcomed the extra work that the spike in traffic brought, given that he was also stuck at home. "With all this traffic, technical problems were starting to happen. It was something to take my mind off things - I could dive into work and have some fun digging into problems." More than a year into the pandemic, traffic on the app remains constant. "People are sticking around because they have found a place where they like to hang out with their friends."

What started as a partnership among three people has grown into a 30-person operation with offices in Waterloo, Toronto, Vancouver, New York and San Francisco. "It's gratifying to have a team around you who are excited to work on this. They're really smart, and they're making me smarter," remarks Howlett. "It's also really fun to see so many people using this product."

Bunch's revenues currently come from venture capitalists. The company plans to monetize the free app, offering users opportunities to enhance their experience by customizing their games and unlocking exclusive "skins." A skin is an item that players can acquire in games to change the appearance of their avatar, the character on the screen that represents the player.

Howlett didn't originally intend to go into computer science; he started his academic career at the U of R in business administration. He took a computer science class in his first year and was hooked. "I enjoyed solving problems and finding out how things worked. Seeing that you could build anything you wanted really appealed to me." He gives credit to inspiring professors who got him excited about extracurricular projects, where he learned about new technologies. "I learned more than just building technology; I learned what's needed to take something to market, to build something that solves problems."

Dr. David Gerhard, head of the Department of Computer Science, isn't surprised to hear about how well Howlett, Borgares and Donohue are doing. "I hear about the success of graduates like this often, because there are a lot of opportunities in computer science. It's not just to work at a desk job doing IT, but also to branch out on your own and do a small business startup company," he says. "If you have a new idea, computers are the way to make that idea a reality. If you have a computer science degree, you have the power to do that yourself without relying on anyone else. You can take an idea, make it real and sell it for money."

Gerhard notes that most jobs today involve computing in some way. Some have a little bit of computing that most people can do, but others are aimed at people who can write code and develop computer systems. "The computer science program is very good at preparing people for the job market, offering a variety of experiences and access to co-op programs where people can get job experiences during their degree. It sets you up to be able to work in the information market that is the future of most work."

The Department of Computer Science goes to great lengths to ensure that students have a valuable learning experience. Gerhard meets regularly with industry representatives to ensure the programs offered are relevant to the kinds of jobs available in the market and brings back alumni to do presentations on their careers. "The computer science curricula is a two-level approach," he says. There are fundamentals that rarely change, such as basic programming, computer architecture and basic theory, but there is also the application of these basic principles and theories. Our professors update their courses regularly to take advantage of new technologies, as well as new applications of these technologies."

The department is in the process of adapting some of its programs into new opportunities for students. It just launched a data science master's degree program, and the first cohort will be accepted in September 2021. 

Dr. David Gerhard, head of the U of R's Department of Computer Science, says he often hears about the success stories of graduates, like the four profiled in this story. Dr. David Gerhard, head of the U of R's Department of Computer Science, says he often hears about the success stories of graduates, like the four profiled in this story.

"We're always looking to where the industry is going and what computing looks like in the next generation and the generation after that," says Gerhard. "We have to balance that with the fundamentals of understanding algorithmic thinking and computational process. We don't want to change everything we do all the time. We want to make sure that, as new opportunities and technologies become available, we are giving students the foundational knowledge to approach ways of doing things."

The Department of Computer Science goes to great lengths to ensure that students have a valuable learning experience. Gerhard meets regularly with industry representatives to ensure the programs offered are relevant to the kinds of jobs available in the market and brings back alumni to do presentations on their careers. "The computer science curricula is a two-level approach," he says. There are fundamentals that rarely change, such as basic programming, computer architecture and basic theory, but there is also the application of these basic principles and theories. Our professors update their courses regularly to take advantage of new technologies, as well as new applications of these technologies."

Gerhard asserts you can find computer science graduates working everywhere - for oil companies, with school boards and as sculptors. "Every industry needs computer scientists." He goes on to say that every workforce needs at least three computer science jobs: one for data security, one for commerce and one for data analytics. "These are three completely different things that computer science does that makes it possible for a customer to approach you to buy a product, to protect your IT infrastructure from invasive actions by bad actors, and to leverage data in your organization to solve new and interesting problems."

Enrollment in the program has grown exponentially over the past five years. There are currently more than 1,000 declared computer science majors at the U of R, but the industry is still asking for more graduates. "There still aren't enough computer science grads to do all of the computer science jobs that are in the workforce today. The opportunities are also growing exponentially," says Gerhard.

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