Left to right: Kassam, Lew, Gebrael, Berenchtein, Silva For four years now we've asked a group of five students to predict their futures. We wanted to know where they thought they'd be in the year 2000. Impossible? Maybe. But we had a hunch that their plans and dreams might change during their undergraduate years. Lily Berenchtein Then... 1997 - "IT WAS interesting [first year]. People told me I'd be one person among many and it would be scary but it wasn't like that...I like to be involved in the life of York. I like research, I like teaching. So what will I be doing in 2000 or 2001? Completing my BEd I hope." 1998 - Life's path seemed pretty clear to President's Scholarship student Lily Berenchtein last year. But now? Well, let's just say she's not 100 per cent sure she wants to be a teacher even though she loves it. More and more she finds she's pulled in many directions. "I want to make some decisions about what direction to take, but I'm interested in so much!" 1999 - When she's not practising her recently-taken-up-sport of kickboxing, or playing classical guitar, you might find her pursuing the piano. Berenchtein says she has become more interested in the process of learning. "I like the idea of learning about learning... thinking about how the mind works. I want to go to graduate school." Now... Berenchtein won't technically graduate until next year because she's in the concurrent program at York's Faculty of Education, but she's as unsure as ever about exactly what direction her future will take. She's had to scale back on extracurricular activities because she got ill. "I went to Israel for the summer. It was a terrific experience, but I think I got exhausted. I want to do so many things, but first you have to be healthy. I don't know where I'll end up. There's always grad school." Samir Gebrael Then... 1997 - "MY FIRST-YEAR experience confirmed for me that York was a big step up from high school. I got one of my lowest marks in my student career here [in the BBA program]. I was in shock!..Part of me realizes now that I'm interested in the purely intellectual side of things, the joy of learning for learning's sake." 1998 - While he found first year a challenge, Gebrael finds second year much tougher. He's also learning the value of meeting people who don't necessarily share the same values, he says. "I'm taking a philosophy course. In the BBA there is a certain unity to everyone's mind set, but philosophy challenges me to test those notions." 1999 - Gebrael says he's still interested in business and law, and plans to write the LSAT this summer. "I think I'm headed in the right direction now," he says. "But you never quite know. It can be scary. There's a sense of being torn. I don't know whether to take a year off, pursue law, or work for my dad's business once I graduate." Now... "I'm more systematic. Not more organized. The Schulich School of Business taught me to look for more than one single answer to a problem, because there never is just one perfect answer. I think I've learned more of an approach to business. I've majored in marketing. I was torn between that and finance. But marketing's what I really love. I'm not going for law. I was studying for my LSAT but dropped out because my father's business needed my attention. We've got two new stores and you have to be there to watch them. I never thought I'd be this busy at my age! But it's good. When I graduate I'll work here in the family business for a while. I'm still keeping my options open on the idea of combining business and law." Paula Silva Then... 1997 - PAULA SILVA arrived at York with an entrance scholarship. "But that wasn't entirely why I chose to come here," she says. "Friends and family and teachers played a crucial role," she adds. "I've always wanted to teach [Silva's in the concurrent program in the Faculty of Education], and this program came recommended. I definitely plan to do my master's in English. A job is important to me, but I'm also interested in learning." 1998 - Silva's certainly made some changes. When she first came to York she majored in English and geography. She has kept the English, but switched her other major to political science. "One of my role models [for teaching] was my high-school principal. When he retired he went back to school!" says Silva. "I'm interested in teaching, but when I took a course in constitutional law it got me thinking in some other directions. I'd probably be interested in family law." 1999 - In first year, Silva said she wanted to start her master's degree right away, but now she's contemplating applying to law school. But she's still interested in teaching, especially math, social studies and art. "I think I love it because I'm making a difference with the kids. I've always loved teaching little children. Maybe it's because I'm a big kid myself." Now... This year Silva had to reduce her course load in order to earn money - she's holding down two part-time jobs - to complete her studies. But she's still taking some education courses as well as political science, and says she plans on grad school in education. "I think I'm less naive now. I know what I want: my own classroom. I haven't changed that much. Right now I'm working in the literacy program with the Catholic School Board and I'm looking into becoming a foster parent as soon as I graduate. I want to help as many kids as I can." Lawrence Lew Then... 1997 - ALTHOUGH FAR from his native Mauritius, computer science major Lawrence Lew says that the culture shock in his first year wasn't all that great. "Mostly it was the size of the roads. We just don't have highways like this back home. And the malls of course. There's nothing like the Eaton Centre." Lew says he plans to go back home after he graduates, rather than stay in Canada. "Coming here has made me realize my place is in Mauritius," he says. Lew likes the small size of Glendon with its personal feel to the classes. 1998 - While Lew talked about his place as being in Mauritius last year, this year he seems to have shifted. Now he's talking about getting out and seeing the world. "I'd like to see more of Canada and Europe." And while last year he was talking about marriage and a good job, now he wants to open himself up to more possibilities in his life. "Marriage is the last of my priorities," says Lew. "I'm not making any plans. Just living day-to-day." 1999 - This year Lew says he's feeling much more Americanized. Lew has changed his academic direction. Last year he was mostly concentrating on financial accounting and economics, this year he's taking more computer courses and mathematics. He's planning a career in financial math. Now... Lew has abandoned his dream of a career in financial math, marriage and returning to his homeland, for a steady, well-paying career in Toronto with IBM doing e-business programming. It's his first "real" job, says Lew, who was recruited and offered the position while still a student. "Salaries are about 10 times better here than at home," says Lew. "So I think I'm further ahead to stay here. I hesitated between grad school and a job, but my professors suggested I take the job and think about school down the road. I'm used to North America now, so I'm not going home for the moment." Farrah Kassam Then... 1997 - "I'VE BEEN pretty much convinced I want to go into medicine," says Farrah Kassam. Kassam, who won many academic awards, had no shortage of offers from various Ontario universities but decided on York because "they seemed more interested in having me than the other universities. It was such a pleasant experience." First year was an eye-opener for her. "I realized I couldn't control everything and I also learned that being a workaholic wasn't enough. I need to have a balance between work and pleasure." 1998 - Kassam didn't get the National Research Council award she was hoping for but she did win an external scholarship, the Fessenden-Trott, worth $9,000 per year over three years as long as she maintains an A average. "I'm assisting professors with their research here and getting paid, so it's a real bonus. I hadn't thought of research before. I haven't quite made up my mind about which direction [medicine or research] I might take." 1999 - "Once I'm on track, I stay there," says Kassam. It seems she's still on track to get married and get into med school. "My boyfriend and I are definitely tying the knot. We just have to have our condo completed first." Now... Kassam realized two goals out of the three she predicted. She got married, got into medical school at the University of Western Ontario but, unfortunately, didn't get the condo she wanted. Kassam says she really isn't sure whether she'll end up as a general practitioner or whether she'll decide to specialize in something like oncology. She is sure, however, that whatever she does with medicine will involve people, rather than lab research.