When Clémentine Rotsaert moved to Toronto in September 2021 to enrol at the University of Toronto, she faced a big challenge.
“I’d never been to Toronto before,” she recalls. “It was during COVID. I wasn’t meeting anyone. It was me, my laptop and Zoom. So U of T and Toronto felt lonely — it wasn’t a good year.”
Rotsaert reflected on what was missing from her new life. “I reminded myself that what made me happy before was being involved and being connected with the people around me,” she says. “So, I became more involved and connected; I persevered and I’m really proud of how things worked out.”
This spring, Rotsaert is graduating as a member of Innis College with a double major in physiology and health studies. A&S News spoke with her about her upcoming graduation, her time at U of T and her future.
How does it feel to be graduating?
Surreal. When I began my undergrad, it was a struggle. But now that I'm leaving Toronto, I’m very sad because I’ve laid down roots here. I've also changed so much as a person in the last four years. It’s been transformational and I'm proud of who I've become.
That's largely because of all the people I've met here and all the opportunities I’ve had. If you’d told me back in the fall of 2021 that I was going to do all the things I did, I’d have never believed you. So, it’s bittersweet to be leaving U of T, but I'm also feeling very grateful as I move on.
What’s next for you?
I’m super excited that I’ve been accepted into medical school at the University of Virginia. I’m eager to take it on, though it's a little daunting, too. Medical school will be a huge challenge, but I think U of T has prepared me well for it, because of the rigor of the program here. I'm excited to see how much more I'm going to change and grow over the next four years.
Can you describe the path you’ve taken during your undergrad?
Ever since I was about 12 years old, I've wanted to be a doctor — it's all I’ve ever wanted. So I came to U of T thinking, I'm going to be a pediatric doctor, end of story. But I ended up doing more work in geriatrics than in any other disciplines — largely because of a first-year course I took called Science and Global Threats with Professor Paul Whissell. It was a life-science-oriented course but it was about the practice of medicine on a global scale and very much about the social implications of that practice.
My focus during the course was on population aging which I narrowed down to dementia and then to dementia caregiving. And that’s where my curiosity started because we have this patient-centred care ideology in Western medicine, which is great. But, when it comes to chronic diseases like dementia, it's not just the patient who's affected, but the people around them, too.
You became co-president of the Student Association for Geriatric Empowerment (SAGE), a group dedicated to connecting different generations. Can you tell us about it?
SAGE was originally founded by students in Professor Franco Taverna’s human biology course about dementia. They had a program, Companion Calls, that’s all about connecting isolated seniors with younger people. So I joined and thought it was great. It’s so simple, but it makes so much sense. I would call my companion and we'd have lovely conversations. She taught me a lot about Canada since I'm not Canadian. It was like having a grandmother here in Canada.
Plus, there’s science behind it. Research has shown it only takes three or four social connections to prevent a person from feeling isolated and alone. I thought, if I could be one of those connections for one person, I could make a big difference in someone’s life.
On top of all that, you were gaining research experience, correct?
I spent about 18 months with an organization called SE Health, helping develop a tool for care providers of people living with dementia — to help caregivers collaborate and build stronger partnerships. It was all about, how do you enact change in a health system? How do you get people to adopt a new way of serving each other? It was absolutely fascinating and a completely unexpected direction for me.
I thought I was going to do biomedical research but instead, I found myself in health service innovation research. That experience not only helped enhance my understanding of my health studies courses, it was a massive learning opportunity for me and a very rewarding experience.
Do you have any advice for a student starting their first year at U of T?
Be as open minded as you can and say yes. Take advantage of all the opportunities thrown your way. Because you might think you know what’s what but things are going to come up, things are going to go wrong. Maybe things don’t go as you were expecting or what you thought you wanted doesn’t work out. But you adapt. I think life is all about seeing where you end up and enjoying it along the way. So, enjoy yourself, strike a balance. But when a door opens, go through it. Why not!?