Aug. 10, 2016
Engineering grad Monique Sullivan is on the right track in Rio
Alumna Monique Sullivan, BSc (Eng)'15, is competing in the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics.
Canadian Olympic Committee
Monique Sullivan鈥檚 cycling career all started at the University of 不良研究所 when she was 12 and her parents signed her up for a program with all disciplines of cycling: road, mountain and track cycling on the velodrome.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 very good at any of them,鈥 recalls the Schulich School of Engineering alumna, BSc (Eng)'15, and Olympian. 鈥淏ut I really loved riding the track and fell in love with that one right away.鈥
By 15, was competing in a category for girls 17 to 18. When she won a medal at the Canadian Championships, she had to give it back because she wasn鈥檛 鈥榓ge-eligible.鈥 She has gone on to win plenty of other medals at the Pan Am games and Commonwealth games.
'I had a little hidden engine that I didn't even know was there'
鈥淚t鈥檚 a unique sport because you don鈥檛 need hand-eye coordination and you don鈥檛 need to be able to run,鈥 says Sullivan. 鈥淚t鈥檚 all about your engine and I had a little hidden engine that I didn鈥檛 even know was there.鈥
Riding her bike may have played a subliminal role in choosing to study mechanical engineering at Schulich.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the only thing that interested me,鈥 says Sullivan. 鈥淥ver the years, there have been quite a few engineers who have come through the track program and I think it鈥檚 because of these really cool machines that we get to ride. It鈥檚 pretty amazing how fast you can go on these bikes that, on the surface, are a relatively simple design.鈥
It took nine years for Sullivan to finish her degree, in part because she took a two-and-a-half year break to prepare for and compete in the 2012 London Olympics.
She finished sixth in keirin (where the athletes have a controlled start behind a pacing bike) and 11th in the sprint event. When she came back to Schulich, she had to 鈥渞elearn everything.鈥
Sullivan took nine years to complete her degree because she competed in the 2012 Olympics.
Canadian Olympic Committee
Parallels between Olympic training and pursuit of engineering degree
Sullivan sees parallels between the focus it takes to train for the Olympics and studying to be an engineer.
鈥淲hen we鈥檙e working toward a goal 鈥 a new weight in the gym or a new time on the track 鈥 it鈥檚 this sort of struggle and you have these breakthrough moments,鈥 she says. 鈥淚 really love that feeling when you didn鈥檛 know if you鈥檇 be able to figure something out at school or you didn鈥檛 know you鈥檇 be able to do it, and then you finally do it.鈥
"Monique is an example of our amazing Schulich graduates," says Schulich dean Bill Rosehart. "At the Schulich School of Engineering, we are committed to doing everything to support our students' success, including being there for our student athletes as they balance their studies and training. We are thrilled for Monique and can't wait to cheer her on in Rio."
Sullivan made history in 2015 as the first Canadian cyclist to win three gold medals at the Pan Am Games in Toronto.
Sullivan became one of Canada鈥檚 most decorated athletes at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Milton, Ont.
Canadian Olympic Committee
'I really miss school'
Sullivan will compete in the team sprint, individual sprint and keirin at the Rio Olympics.
鈥淭his is the fun part,鈥 she says. After Rio, she鈥檒l decide whether to continue cycling or to look for a job as an engineer. Either way, she has fond memories of Schulich.
鈥淚 really miss school,鈥 says Sullivan. 鈥淚 was in the library a couple of weeks ago and I saw a girl doing math homework and I was kind of jealous.鈥