Ananya Srivastava

At a crossroads

Chemistry student Ananya Srivastava will use her B.E.S.T. internship to explore her passion for medicine

Ananya Srivastava is passionate about medicine. The Chemistry major from Mississauga, Ontario, has immersed herself in many extracurricular activities both on and off the Bishop’s campus to gain exposure to the field, including a volunteer position at a hospital and several academic clubs. Now in her 2nd year, Ananya will be taking an exciting new step in her journey this summer.

“I was surfing the Bishop’s website and found the experiential learning link. I saw that the school offered several opportunities including B.E.S.T. At the time, I knew I wanted to do an internship abroad, so I thought this would be an amazing opportunity to help me achieve that goal,” she explains.

Ananya will be researching anti-cancer agents at Braunschweig University of Technology in Germany. Before her internship, she will be learning German while staying with a host family in Frankfurt. She will be paired with another student who doesn’t speak English – a truly immersive experience that will help her during her 2-month long internship.

The energetic student is hoping that this experience will help her decide between two career paths: graduate work or medicine. “I’m conflicted. I want a PhD and an MD. I know I am interested in medicine but I have recently started exploring graduate work. So if I really love the research I will be doing this summer, then I will know that I will want to pursue graduate studies. But if I don’t like it, then I know medicine is the way to go.”

She adds: “It’s amazing that Bishop’s is willing to support me financially so I can follow my dreams and figure out what I should do next.”

For Ananya, these experiences outside of the classroom are the best way to learn. “Classrooms are very controlled environments. All the experiments given by my professors are known to work. And if they don’t work, then I know it’s because of something I did or that something went wrong that can be explained. Whereas when you’re researching, you don’t know what the outcome will be. My internship will allow me to explore my skill and test how much I’m learning in the classroom,” she says.

What is B.E.S.T. ?

This story focuses on a recipient of the B.E.S.T. Projects Fund. B.E.S.T. is the premiere experiential learning opportunity at Bishop’s University. In 2010, an anonymous Bishop’s graduate made a gift commitment to establish this opportunity fund at the university. This unique possibility is meant to assist students, determine their career paths and realize their ambitions. It also gives the student the chance to learn outside of the classroom.

The funds are awarded to students whom the Selection Committee believes have the potential for significant achievement and impact once they graduate from Bishop’s. Find out more information about B.E.S.T.