Meet Nina, a diligent second-year computer science student at the University of Waterloo. During the COVID lockdowns, she focused intensely on her academics, achieving impressive grades that now fill her with a mix of pride and regret, as she often dreams of the projects and friendships she missed out on. Nina shares her journey to her first co-op placement, realizing that her interview skills, honed through countless practice sessions and strategy sessions on LeetCode, played a more significant role in securing her position than her high grades ever could. Now, she’s eager to cultivate a balanced university life that includes both academic success and rich, fulfilling experiences outside of the classroom.