Scoring points in two games

For Shamit Shome, pro soccer and engineering go hand in hand.

For Shamit Shome, juggling a full course load with a professional career in soccer is like kicking a ball around with his friends-easy and exciting. Shome is the youngest player on FC Edmonton, one of five North American Soccer League teams in Canada, and a first-year engineering student.

The two careers are equally important to Shome. With six courses per term during the school year, he practises five or six times a week and plays regular games with the team. To keep his eye on the ball, Shome has developed excellent time-management skills.

"I make sure I set time for each thing. So once I have practice, I focus on the practice. When the practice is out of the way, then I transition to the school aspect: I get all my homework done, study, go to classes," he says.

Shome started kicking a soccer ball around his backyard at the age of four. Engineering runs in the blood, too, with many of his family members working in the profession in Edmonton and Fort McMurray.

"I have a lot of family involved in engineering, so that motivated me. I liked what they were doing," says Shome.

Last year, Shome started paving his own path towards a career in electrical engineering when he entered the common first-year engineering program.

"For me that was kind of a test. I like to push myself, so that was a good test for me to try to keep up with all six courses and make sure I did well in all of them."

One of the biggest challenges for a first-year student is acquiring some essential learning habits. More specifically, Shome had to motivate himself to study in his own free time to finish homework and submit projects on time.

In soccer, Shome is a centre midfielder-a key position on any club. He was scouted from the Edmonton FC Academy in early 2016 to sign his first professional contract at the age of 18. FC Edmonton is currently ranked fourth in the league standings.

Just like his current professional interests revolve around soccer and engineering, his future will be equally shaped by both.

"What I want to do is, hopefully, after finishing up with engineering and getting a degree, I would probably pick soccer just for the short term. In soccer, you last until the age of 30 or 35. Ideally, after that, I will retire and go into an engineering position," says Shome.

"It is a bit idealistic, but if I put my mind into it, it will work out."