Maisie Morsara: The Pathbreaker

“I want students to know that everyone has a very different personal journey – and that’s ok.”

When Maisie Morsara is mentoring students, she makes a point of asking them to pause for a moment to consider what they really want to do.

“There are a lot of external factors influencing students,” she says. “Sometimes they’re not really listening to what their heart wants.”

She speaks from experience. In 2018, after mentoring undergrads in the Faculty of Science for over five years, Maisie realized something important: she hadn’t been listening to her own advice.

When she graduated with her BSc in biochemistry in 2006, Maisie felt certain about her life path. She launched a successful career in biotech, applying her lifelong passion for science to the burgeoning industry.

That certainty began to waver after she started volunteering at UBC in 2013, first with Science’s Tri-Mentoring Program (which ended a year later) and then as a regular speaker at Beyond the BSc, which brings together students and alumni to discuss career opportunities and challenges. It was through this ongoing engagement with students that Maisie realized the path she had so carefully planned was no longer right for her. She quit her biotech job and began working at SFU, where she is now an academic advisor and engages with students regularly.

Her own story has made her passionate about encouraging students to view their future as a fluctuating journey, not a rigid path.

“I want to reassure them that how we get to that final destination is going to look very different for everyone,” she says. “Everyone goes through times of uncertainty.”

For Sue Kim, a fourth-year biology student who co-chaired this year’s Beyond the BSc, this is just the type of advice students desperately need.

“One of the most common struggles students face, especially in science, is figuring out what they want to do or can do after their degree,” she says.

She and her team purposely tried to recruit alumni like Maisie whose diverse career paths demonstrate the breadth of possibilities, particularly less traditional career choices.

“After the event, many students shared how insightful it was to hear from alumni, and how helpful it was in their career planning process,” she says.

Sue admires the willingness of alumni to invest in students like her. “Many of them come back every year and even continue conversations beyond the event. It inspires me to want to do that one day as well,” she says.

For Maisie, the decision to volunteer every year is a no-brainer.

“I love being engaged in this next generation of researchers and innovators. They’re creative and full of energy,” she says. “Sometimes confusion as well,” she adds, with a laugh. “I love having an impact on how they perceive their transition from university to the working world or academia.”

She describes the relationship between students and alumni as “cyclical.”

“Volunteering is an incredible way for alumni to give back to such a great university. I hope alumni realize how much the students equally inspire the volunteers,” she says.

Published April 16, 2021.