HÂþ»­

Aarun Tripathi (he/him) graduated from HÂþ»­ in spring 2026 with a Bachelor of Arts Combined Honours degree in Sociology and Creative Writing. He shares some of his fond memories from his Dal experience, advice for new students, and details of what's next for him.

Please share a bit of information about you.

Despite my Indian ancestry, I was born and raised in Oman, where I lived for 14 years before immigrating to Canada with my family and settling in Prince Edward Island. Eventually, I moved to Halifax to pursue my post-secondary education and begin a new chapter of personal and academic growth.

What’s next for you?

I intend to continue my studies at HÂþ»­ University by pursuing a Combined Master of Public Administration and Juris Doctor (MPA/JD) program. My long-term goal is to attend law school and build a career where I can meaningfully contribute to advocacy, policy, and social change. I hope to continue exploring the intersections of law, storytelling, governance, and social justice, while finding ways to make a tangible difference in the lives of others.

Please share a favorite experience or fond memory from your time as a student in Dal’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences.

One of my favorite memories from my time in Dal’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences was participating in the Sociology Honours Seminar. There was something incredibly meaningful and emotional about witnessing the presentations of my peers. I loved how supportive and encouraging the environment was; we continuously uplifted one another, exchanged feedback during rehearsals, and celebrated each other’s successes leading up to that final presentation.

That seminar represented more than just an academic milestone. It felt like the culmination of four years of growth, hard work, uncertainty, resilience, and discovery. The room carried a mixture of warmth, excitement, nervousness, solidarity, friendship, and bittersweetness. We were all standing at the edge of new beginnings, preparing to go our separate ways and pursue lives and careers that we hope will leave a positive impact on the world. It was one of those rare moments where you become deeply aware of how far everyone around you has come and how much possibility still lies ahead.

If you could give one piece of advice to an incoming first-year student, what would it be?

If I could give one piece of advice to an incoming first-year student, it would be this: allow yourself the grace and patience to figure out who you are and how you want to contribute to the world. It is completely okay not to have everything figured out right away. Sometimes life can feel incredibly fast-paced, as though everyone around you is racing ahead while you are still trying to understand your own path. But growth is not a competition, and your journey does not need to look like anyone else’s.

If you realize that the program you originally chose no longer fulfills you, or perhaps never truly aligned with your passions in the first place, give yourself permission to sit with that realization rather than fear it. There will always be people willing to help guide and support you: Your professors, classmates, advisors, colleagues, friends, and sometimes even strangers you never expected would shape your life in meaningful ways.

While grades are certainly important, university is about much more than academic performance. It is an experience designed to help you discover what excites you, challenges you, and ultimately what you are capable of becoming. When I first enrolled at HÂþ»­, I was pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree majoring in Biochemistry. Today, I am graduating with a Bachelor of Arts Combined Honours degree in Sociology and Creative Writing, a path that may seem like a complete 180-degree turn. However, through taking diverse courses, speaking with different people, and embracing the opportunities and resources available at Dal, I realized that growth often happens in unexpected ways.

My advice is to take life one day at a time and remain open to possibilities you may not have originally imagined for yourself. Forgive yourself for the mistakes you make along the way. Forgive yourself when things do not unfold according to plan. Sometimes the detours we fear the most end up leading us exactly where we were meant to be.