School and sport have always been part of the mix for Lia Tramontini.
Yet from the moment the 28 year-old Sudbury native entered the doors of the ultra demanding School of Architecture at the University of Waterloo following her graduation from College Notre-Dame, Tramontini understood that balance might soon be toppled.
Co-op work placements in Paris (France), New York, Houston and Los Angeles would lead to more schooling, the pursuit of a masters and PhD from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.
Free time is fleeting. Still, there lies that hope for a return to the courts (Tramontini suited up as a libero for both the Northern Chill and CND during her high-school years) or the ice (she played hockey from the age of six through to grade 10) or any of her other multiple interests in athletics.
“I do miss it, I miss it a lot,” said the youngest of two children in the family recently, reached half a world away thanks to the wonders of Zoom. “I miss the structure, I miss the camaraderie. I miss having that outlet that once a week. It’s such a therapeutic thing to play sports.”
And to be honest, it was likely something Tramontini took for granted in her youth, adding the likes of tennis, soccer, flag football and track during her very busy time as an Alouette. But it was in a volleyball setting where she most excelled.
At 5’3” and saddled with “jumping abilities that have always been atrocious”, in her own words, Tramontini would play to her strength, a combination of good reflexes and hand-eye coordination to go along with the ability to process the game quickly from the shoulders up. “I think the trickiest thing about being a libero is that it’s a big mental game,” she said.
“As a libero, you don’t get those big celebrations from ending a point with a big hit. When you get a big dig, the game keeps going. You don’t get that “I killed it” moment. I played everywhere except for middle, and I found libero to be the most psychologically taxing.”
Thankfully, utilizing a cerebral approach had always been a forte for Tramontini, even as she pursued entry to a post-secondary program that would go well beyond high-end grades, requiring the submission of a portfolio, an accompanying interview process, and finally closing off with a written precis from a work of literary academia.
“When I knew that I had to do the precis, I was terrified,” said Tramontini. “I had gone to a french high-school and really didn’t know how my english would measure up.” Through the help of teacher and Chill coach Joanna Castonguay, the teen who would mix in a knack for math and sciences with an enjoyment of the arts would make the cut.
Yet for as much as she had completed the necessary research into her program, there were those inevitable curveballs that so often accompany the introduction to university studies. “The biggest thing that shocked me was that the entire program was about critical thinking, analytical thinking,” said Tramontini.
“You’re not taking pure math, pure physics. It’s more about things like cultural history, learning about cultures and how to read spaces and sights.”
If the co-operative nature of Waterloo architecture had an appeal prior to making her way to Kitchener, it offered even more benefit once she arrived. “ The co-op structure for me was integral in allowing me to find my way in architecture. In any field that you are working in, you can likely do 15 different versions of that.”
“When I first started, I thought I would want to do residential and interiors and small buildings. I did a couple of co-ops and didn’t enjoy it. I did a hard 180 and did a co-op in engineering, and that was too far on the other side - so I ended up somewhere in the middle.”
In architectural terms, this would lead Tramontini to the world of building enclosures, that which separates the interior from the exterior. “It often includes all of the high tech systems, the part that is most responsible for energy consumption,” she noted.
Her placement in Los Angeles would avail her to a stream of really cool projects, giving way to a direction for both her masters (of science and technology) and her PhD.
Thanks in large part to the financial support of La Fondation Baxter et Alma Ricard, dreams became reality. Suddenly, it was off to Holland, though an eventual return to her original stomping grounds is not out of the question.
“Right after my PhD, I want to work in industry and participate in that for a good chunk of my career,” said Tramontini. “But part of the reason I am doing my PhD is that when I feel I am ready, the door will be open for me to come back and be a teacher.”
"Laurentian would be a really nice end goal.”
There would be much here to remind her of the character traits, borne through sports, that have influenced every subsequent step of her journey. “That list is so long, there are so many things,” exclaimed Tramontini. “The confidence that you get from playing sports, the perseverance, the focus, the time management skills - the list just doesn’t end.”
“You build so much character through so many soft skills by playing sports, especially through playing a lot of sports. It kind of follows you in a million different ways.”
And Lia Tramontini is not even halfway through a life of a million adventures.