Sonia Catalli

My name is Sonia and I am a third-year student at the University of Guelph, ON, CA. I am currently completing my BSc, majoring in Biological Science and minoring in Psychology. I initially started university with the intent to major in biology and minor in chemistry. However, I soon discovered that lab work is not for me. Accidently, I found psychology! A field I never thought I would have any interest in, I took Introduction to Psychology as an elective (mostly because I didn’t know what else to take) and I have been hooked ever since. I hope to pursue medical school next!

Outside of my academic life, I love books and movies. Some of my favorites include the Harry Potter series (of course) and true crime documentaries. I am passionate about music and I play piano, guitar, and ukulele! Currently, I'm working on building a record collection. I also love to volunteer around Guelph. I am an executive for the University of Guelph Pre-Med Club and our chapter of Jack.org, a youth driven mental health initiative. I also spend my Monday afternoons in the CT department of Guelph General Hospital where I greet patients and prepare them for their scan.

Health care, particularly mental health, is an area of science I am very passionate about. Mental health and care for those seeking help is something that we need to be able to talk about and that needs some significant improvement. For personal and academic reasons, I clicked with the area of science right away. There is still so much for us to discover about the brain and how it interacts with other factors produce our behaviours. I am hoping to combine my interest in the brain and psychology with my love of volunteering and helping others to become a doctor in the area of mental health.

An interesting fact about me that most people don't know, is that my interest in medicine actually grew out of my own experience as a spinal fusion patient. The surgery was due to severe scoliosis which is a curvature of the spine; mine became debilitating. My surgeon, Dr. Zeller, at Sick Kids Hospital is a major inspiration of mine. He performs surgeries that many other doctors refuse to because spinal surgery, on children and teens especially, is extremely risky. The surgery changed my quality of life drastically, and had it not been for Dr. Zeller I likely would not be happily running around Guelph as I am today. It was that surgery, and the way medicine changed my life, that made me want to study it and pursue it as a career.