What You Should Know as You Start Your Systems Projects

A Conversation with Campus Finalists Sam, Paige, and Julia

Linh Bui

Sam Padron, Paige Thompson, and Julia Brady from the University of Calgary were campus finalists in the Map The System Canada 2024 competition. Their systems analysis on systemic barriers to post-secondary education won the Excellence in Systems Mapping award.

Blog Banner Image: (From left to right) Sam Padron, Julia Brady, and Paige Thompson received their Excellence in Systems Mapping award in the Canadian Final 2024.

Q: What inspired you to participate in Map the System?
Paige: Our project actually originated as part of a class assignment. We used the guidelines of Map the System to frame our research, and then we were encouraged to submit it to the campus finals. We ended up winning that round, which is why we’re fortunate enough to be here at the national finals.

Julia: I actually personally connected with this topic. We were brainstorming different ideas, and while I didn’t come up with this exact topic, my experience played a role. I had hip surgery in the summer and started the school year in a wheelchair. Navigating campus was incredibly difficult—I needed family members to help me open doors and get around. It made me realize how challenging it must be for people who deal with these barriers permanently. That led us to explore not just mobility and accessibility, but also financial, environmental, and social factors that impact post-secondary education.

Q: Did you find it difficult to separate the project from your personal experiences?
Julia: Not necessarily. For the inaccessibility element, I had to do additional research to ensure I wasn’t relying solely on my own experience. My time in a wheelchair was temporary, so I needed to seek out other perspectives—both through research articles and personal stories. But other aspects of our research were new to me, so it was a learning experience rather than a personal one.

Q: What was the most impactful thing you learned from this process?
Paige: Once you start digging into a problem and breaking it down into all its interconnected factors and reasons of the problem at hand, you realize how deeply everything is linked. Education touches so many different systems, and tackling one issue often leads to broader insights across multiple areas.

Sam: I’ve always had a general awareness that where we are born affects our opportunities in life, but I hadn’t explored it in depth before. This research deepened my understanding and confirmed how crucial it is to examine systemic barriers comprehensively.

Julia: My biggest takeaway is just eye-opening. I grew up in a privilege so I realized how important it is to make information accessible. Many of the challenges we studied are hidden from people who haven’t personally experienced them. Scholarly papers exist on these topics, but they aren’t always easy to understand or widely shared. If you haven’t lived through it and don’t have the lived experiences, it’s hard to know these challenges happening before your eyes. Finding ways to communicate this knowledge effectively is key to addressing systemic issues.

Sam: One of the biggest takeaways is how it changes your perspective. You start to question things—"Why is this this way?"—and begin to see relationships and connections between different issues. Without this experience, you might not have thought about problems in this way. "You start to see relationships and connections between things that you wouldn’t have otherwise considered. That’s powerful."

Q: How did systems thinking influence your approach?
Sam: Systems thinking really helped us connect individual stories to larger patterns. It’s about putting a name to a face and a story to a name, which makes the problem and deeper connections feel more tangible and real.

Paige: Everyone has different experiences, and intersectionality is critical. There’s no single solution that fits all cases. Access to information is the first step in levelling the playing field as much as possible, given that people come from diverse social and economic backgrounds.

Sam: Every team competing in Map the System has put in an incredible amount of effort, and that deserves recognition.

Julia: Another major lesson I’ve learned is the importance of listening. Research isn’t just about academic work—it’s about real people and the impact systems have on their lives. Listening to lived experiences is just as valuable as reading scholarly articles.

Q: What was the most challenging aspect of your research?

Paige: Organizing the information was really difficult. We went back and forth so many times trying to figure out how to structure it. Creating a visual representation that accurately conveyed the complexity of the issue was a major challenge.

Julia: Everyone processes information differently, so we had to find a way to present our research that was clear and accessible to diverse audiences. That took a lot of trial and error.

Q: What was your approach to solutions?
Sam: Our goal wasn’t to find a one-size-fits-all solution, nor did we want to create an overly specific solution that only helps a small group while neglecting others. Instead, we focused on understanding the problem deeply so that we could identify multiple ways to address different aspects of it. A broad, flexible approach is necessary to create meaningful change.

Q: What role do you think empathy played in your process?

Julia: It played a large role in our project because our topic is deeply connected to identity, who a person is, and how that impacts their experiences—especially why they might or might not be able to attend post-secondary education. Listening to people’s stories and reading their experiences required us to empathize, even if we didn’t fully understand or hadn’t lived through similar backgrounds. Empathy played a huge role in understanding the challenges that exist.

Sam: A big part of Map the System is that it’s people-based. We’re all very connected. Sometimes, it’s hard to have empathy for someone if you don’t attach a name or story to them. But it’s important to recognize that these people exist all over the world, affected by different factors that we may not personally experience. That’s why it can be difficult to relate, but they’re still people.

Paige: We all just finished our first year, so coming out of high school and focusing on that transition from primary school to post-secondary, we’ve seen firsthand the barriers people face. Having empathy and recognizing that we are among the lucky ones who got to go to post-secondary education makes us want to use that privilege to give back. Using empathy as a starting point for this project was really important.

"Empathy is where everything begins." - Dana Duttons, MTS Alumni 

Q: What advice would you give to future competitors? What do you wish you had known at the start?

Sam: Understanding how big of an opportunity Map the System actually is would have been beneficial at the start. Initially, we were introduced to it as a school project—something we were doing for a grade. But as we went along, we realized this is much bigger than just a grade or personal achievement. We’ve met people from all over the country, connected with professionals and companies

Paige: and seen how this competition can be a real pipeline for change. It’s not just something you complete and move on from.

Sam: Apart from being a pipeline for change, it’s a huge networking opportunity. You meet people with different skill sets and perspectives. Not everyone will agree with or prioritize your topic, but that’s part of engaging with a system—it’s complex and interconnected.

Julia: For those going into this competition, approach it as a learning opportunity. The knowledge gained—especially about systems thinking and organizing information—is invaluable and will likely influence how you approach things in the future. Even if you don’t end up competing, it’s still a great opportunity. The learning is incredible.

A short interview video clip from our conversation with Sam, Julia, and Paige.

Find their report at The Systems Analysis Collection of the Competition 2024.

Note: The interview responses have been lightly edited for clarity and to remove filler words.