FCS News

      Photo: Danny Abriel

Matthew Coelho may be an international student from Bermuda, but his Dalhousie roots run deep. His father and cousins attended Dal, so the second-year master’s student in Applied Computer Science is continuing a family tradition.

The connection with the Coelho family is just one example of the strong link between Dal and Bermuda.

“There’s a good relationship because Dal is always coming down to Bermuda and they have a good alumni base there,” Matthew says. “It’s one of the most well known schools in Bermuda.”

Dal was always on Matthew’s radar, but family ties aren’t the only reason he chose to do his Bachelor of Informatics here. Nor is it the reason he moved straight into graduate study at Dal upon receiving his degree.

“I chose Dal because I loved the program, it was close to Bermuda and it was sort of a familiar environment,” he says. “Halifax is big enough that you feel exposed to a different place, but the community is similar to Bermuda.”

Matthew is now comfortable enough to call Halifax home, having lived here for several years and having created meaningful relationships with Dal faculty and students.

He met his master’s supervisor, dean of Computer Science Andrew Rau-Chaplin, by taking the latter’s undergraduate course. Nova, a Bermudan company with whom Matthew worked two co-op terms for his undergraduate degree, was aware of Rau-Chaplin’s work and helped student and professor form a deeper relationship, one that now sees Matthew conducting research in Rau-Chaplin’s Risk Analytics lab.

Matthew also describes his relationships with fellow students as one of the most rewarding aspects of his time at Dal. When he lived in residence, he served as treasurer of his floor council. He’s a member of the Web Development Society, a student group dedicated to learning about development, as well as the Computer Science Society.

From academics to research to community, Matthew credits Dal’s people for helping him make a home away from home.

“You build good relationships at Dal.”