MARINE LAPEYRE, Visiting MSc Student (ENSTA ParisTech), Summer 2014
JS: Okay, let’s warm up with something easy. Coffee or a cold apple: which keeps you going?
ML: If I’m feeling good, a cold apple!
JS: Very good. As I do more of these interviews I’m noticing an inverse correlation between apples and age. Anyway, how do you like Vancouver? Where did you live before coming to Vancouver? Vancouver’s better, right? KIDDING! There are no wrong answers here! Please, go ahead.
ML: I really like Vancouver. I mean, it is the only place on earth where you can lay on the beach and see the snow covered mountains at the same time. I lived in Paris, which might be even more beautiful 😉
JS: Well, we certainly won’t miss you, having uttered such an offensive statement. Standard interview question, sorry: What’s your worst feature? (other than saying that Paris might even be more beautiful)
ML: Difficult to say, my English is slightly broken. I may have a short attention span and jump quickly from one topic to another.
JS: Maybe your “short attention span” prevented you from appreciating the fact that Vancouver is way better than Paris? Anyway, I’ll let it slide. Now tell me about your first experiment. Not from your first lab experience, school etc, but your REAL FIRST experiment.
ML: I once tried to fly…
JS: Marine: you can fly, through your ideas and accomplishments! Let them take flight! This is a perfect segue to my next question, which is where do you see yourself in 10 years? How about 50 years? 400 years?
ML: 10 years: don’t know yet! 50 years: in a very nice French house with my husband and grandchildren. 400 years: Blowin’ in the wind.
JS: Your 400 years answer is perfect, very poetic. But I’m a little disturbed by your 50 year vision. Where are your children? Why aren’t they in the picture? Did something terrible happen? You don’t have to talk about it if you’re not comfortable. Okay, so, what are you up to when you’re not in the lab? WHAT? YOU’RE NOT ALWAYS IN THE LAB? Just kidding, do tell!
ML: Stealing giant diamonds, playing handball, singing, chilling with my homies, maybe camping.
(maybe on the hunt for coffee. see question #1)
JS: Stealing giant diamonds threw me off but then I figured it’s probably a language thing so I Google translated it to French and then reverse Google translated it back to English and came up with “flying giant diamonds”. Which clears everything up. Standard interview question #2, really sorry: Tell me about a challenge you faced (and totally overcame).
ML: Two months ago, as I was part of my school’s musical, I sang a German song in front of 700 people without understanding a word of it… Quite a challenge!
JS: If you were to come into the lab one morning (it’s ok to leave the lab to sleep at night, sometimes) and find that someone had brought in your favourite edible treat to share with the lab, what would that favourite edible treat be?
ML: French croissants, of course!
JS: You should check out Tim Hortons.