Tim Lau, Dietetics Program, Student Award Recipient
Tim Lau grew up in Vancouver and didn’t always live the healthiest lifestyle prior to joining the Faculty of Land and Food Systems in the Dietetics Program. A growing interest in health and wanting to apply healthy eating to his own lifestyle has been Tim’s main motivation. Following in his family’s footsteps, with both of his parents and his siblings becoming UBC Alumni, he decided that the Program was a great choice for developing a career. Receiving student support was a humbling experience, Tim highlighting that “sometimes with the work you put in day in day out you don’t see the outcomes right away and its easy to feel a little low if you’re not achieving what you want to achieve that, but to be recognized with an award like this, speaks volumes.”
Tim has found his experience at UBC and in the Faculty of Land and Food Systems to be consistently supportive, whether it was celebrating Imagine Day, walking through the halls of the H.R. Macmillan Building or going to counsellors for advice on course work or managing stress, he has always felt a caring atmosphere abounds. Tim reflects that the faculty were approachable, encouraging, and willing to go above and beyond saying, “it’s the people who really made my experience so special and I credit my success to them for sure”.
The most meaningful aspects of his time in LFS include getting to know a wide variety of people, within the Dietetics Program, and beyond, through extracurricular activities and being involved with the LFS community dinners. Along with feeling empowered through relationships, Tim found the coursework and group projects provided a significant baseline for his co-op placement as a dietician in Vancouver General Hospital, where he was able to further excel and to learn saying, “the fundamentals of teamwork and leadership required and also about how to be the most efficient employee, best human, and team member possible, I think the placement has been as valuable as the textbook and course material”.
As someone who is humorous, hardworking, and disciplined, Tim’s advice to prospective students is to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. Tim highlighted that “we often get overwhelmed because we don’t see many opportunities on the horizon, but they always present themselves and I think I have been fortunate enough to be able to have those which really allowed me to maximize the most out of my university career, and also my life”. He acknowledges that it can be challenging to be in a new situation and nerve-racking trying to fit in to new place.
Timothy is grateful for the award and has the following to say to his award donor, “thank you so much for even considering or thinking of me. I don’t do any of it for the recognition, to be able to be recognized means so much to me, I hope I have done you proud and will continue to build on that.”
Timothy is currently working at the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority as a Clinical Dietitian.