Name: Letitia Zhu
Role: I am the Project Coordinator for the MAP-SWAN (Stakeholders’ Walkability/Wheelability Audit in Neighbourhoods) project at Simon Fraser University.
1) Where are you from, and where did you study?
I am originally from China, and I am currently living in Vancouver while pursuing my PhD in Gerontology at Simon Fraser University.
2) What motivates you to make the world more accessible?
My motivation comes from both personal and academic experiences. In daily life, I have witnessed older adults using wheelchairs overturning at curbs and others struggling to rise from skytrain seats, these real situations that highlight the importance of accessibility. Academically, my background in engineering and design trained me to think critically about universal design and ergonomics, constantly asking what makes a design work for everyone.
3) In simple language, describe your research project/the project in which you are collaborating.
I work with Dr. Atiya Mahmood’s Inclusive Environments Lab on projects that focus on mobility, accessibility, participation, and the built environment, recently adding a climate lens. Using community-engaged methods, our research centres on older adults and persons with disabilities.
4) What are your hidden talent and your greatest quality?
My hidden talent is that I once competed in rhythmic gymnastics and aerobics. During my undergraduate years, I was also very passionate about chemistry, so it’s a fun twist from washing test tubes to designing, and now to chatting with people. And my greatest quality, I guess is being highly efficient in my work, and staying emotionally steady.
5) What is the best way to make yourself smile?
I’m someone who laughs easily in everyday life, but one thing that will definitely make me laugh out loud is receiving a lot of money!
6) What do you like to do during your hobbies?
I have to be very honest here, in my free time, I love to catch up on sleep and cook. I enjoy making a big meal for myself and my friends.
7) What place in the world do you dream of visiting?
I’m a big travel lover and honestly the world feels too big for just one dream destination, but high on my list is South America, especially the Iguazu Falls, which I’ve been dying to see.
8) Which book you have read or movie you have watched that has inspired/marked you the most?
There are so many great books in the world, but one that truly influenced me is What Life Should Mean to You by Alfred Adler. Although I read it quite a few years ago, it reshaped how I think about the meaning of life. For me, making a small contribution to human progress or well-being makes life worthwhile. I hope my research and career can play a part in that, and this has become my life goal, and it’s what I continue to work toward.
9) If you could have dinner with a known researcher/scientist/clinician/person who would it be and why?
I would choose Rowe JW. Although the concept of ‘successful aging’ he proposed in 1997 was later widely critiqued, it was truly groundbreaking at that time and became a cornerstone from which much subsequent research developed. I would love to learn what inspired his ideas when he first introduced the framework, how he felt when he later critiqued his own work, and, if he were still alive today, what further directions he would envision for the field.