Greatlove Bariboloka

International Students
Student Life
Lassonde School of Engineering

Building confidence in transferable skills

When Greatlove Bariboloka, an international student from Nigeria, was first introduced to web design as a child, they were immediately captivated by the creative and innovative process.

“I thought to myself ‘there’s so much potential here to innovate,’” they said. “That interest grew throughout my childhood, and when it came time for post-secondary education, studying software design and development was a natural choice.”

During their time at York, Greatlove had a chance to explore their artistic interests while learning about their endeavours in web design.

Making the most out of the student experience

Wanting to make the most of their time as a York student, Bariboloka explored various extracurricular opportunities and learned about the York Engineering Competition (YEC), a team-based engineering contest. Winners would move on to represent York in a provincial competition. With their team of two, Bariboloka presented solutions to recycling plastics and came in first place.

“It was so fun,” Bariboloka says. “After that, I decided to participate in a different YEC category the following year.”

After three years, Bariboloka wanted to see what else they could do within the competition and investigated how to be part of the organizing committee to learn something new. They were chosen as the YEC chair and was able to broaden their learning.

“I learned so much about event websites, advertising to our target audience and was able to implement new changes from the back end – it was really fun,” says Bariboloka.

Now, Bariboloka hopes to continue their educational journey following graduation in 2025 and pursue a Master’s degree and work in the software engineering industry. Through graduate studies, Bariboloka hopes to continue developing their communication and leadership skills, while incorporating creativity to create memorable work.

“My time at York thus far has helped me understand what working in a team with high stakes is like,” says Bariboloka. “Through my leadership positions in various student organizations, I have been faced with situations that I learned to overcome. I hope to continue to grow and build my confidence even more.”

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