Connecting with: Pia Dimayuga

While the U of T campus is closed to the public, in-person classes and non-essential lab work, an attempt is being made to connect with individuals continuing to work from home. This is part of a regular series to help bring us together as we remain apart during this public health crisis.

 

CivE MASc candidate Pia Dimayuga at home with homemade pizzas.

Pia Dimayuga, CivE MASc candidate

Pia Dimayuga is a civil engineering MASc candidate, working on “Northern Ontario Air Transportation: Infrastructure Resilience and Community Wellbeing”  under supervisor Professor Shoshanna Saxe.

She shares her perspective as a graduate student now working from home.

 

The first mask Pia Dimayuga made for Stitch4Corona.

A couple of weeks before campus closed I was actually away doing community engagement in northern Ontario as part of my research. While it has been disappointing to alter my travel plans related to fieldwork and upcoming conferences, I know it’s important and necessary.

The transition to working from home has been fairly smooth! I’m lucky my research isn’t lab-based, so between some file transfers and remote computing, I’m still able to carry out my research. Between MS Teams, BB Collaborate, and Zoom, I’ve been able to meet with my research group, go to class, and meet with GradSWE.

In my spare time I’ve been cooking, baking, and sewing much more than I usually would. I’ve tried many new recipes in the last few weeks, including homemade pita bread and baba ganoush! I’m also a volunteer for Stitch4Corona and have made some homemade masks that are offsetting the shortage of masks in the GTA.

By Pia Dimayuga

ADDENDUM: Dimayuga has declared recently she’s “Just joined Instagram, for the first time, out of boredom.”