What began as Smith Engineering alumna Martha van Berkel’s, Sc’00, desire to leave home and “have an adventure” became the foundation for a career shaped by community, curiosity, a willingness to take risks.
“I grew up in Vancouver, and I was looking to go away to university,” van Berkel recalls. “A woman ahead of me in high school went to Smith Engineering, and she was just so excited about it. I met her for coffee, and she explained the whole experience. That’s what sold me.”
Her decision was also influenced by family. “My dad is an engineer, and he always believed you could study engineering and then go do any career,” she says. “I took that to heart.”
At Queen’s, van Berkel immersed herself fully in campus life, building not just technical skills, but lifelong relationships and leadership experience. “I have so many fond memories,” she says. “The biggest is probably the amazing friends I made. These are people I still journey with today.” This commitment to community is part of what motivated van Berkel to devote so much time to Queen’s as a volunteer after graduation.
She threw herself into extracurriculars, serving as social convener for the Engineering Society of Queen's University, playing intramural sports, and even working as a bartender at Clark Hall Pub. “I did everything to the nth degree,” she says with a laugh. “It was about building community and making sure people connected and had fun.”
That sense of connection extended beyond Kingston. In her third year, van Berkel studied abroad at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, where she pursued another passion: field hockey. “It was one of my first real adult decisions,” she says, reflecting on choosing engineering over varsity athletics earlier in her degree. “Going abroad gave me the chance to do both, and it made me appreciate Queen’s even more when I came back.”
After graduation, van Berkel’s career took her to California and eventually back to Canada. Upon returning and carrying forward the spirit of the woman who brought her to Queen’s, she became involved in alumni initiatives, including helping to found the Queen’s Young Engineering Alumni (QYEA) network in Toronto.
“It started as a way to build community among young alumni,” she explains. “We wanted people who landed in the GTA to immediately have a kind of family. Over time, it also became about giving back and staying connected to Queen’s.”
That experience proved transformative. “I got to sit in rooms with alumni who were absolute rock stars,” she says. “Many of them were entrepreneurs, and I think that had a real impact on me. It made entrepreneurship feel possible.”
Today, as a business leader, van Berkel credits much of her success to the relationships she built through Queen’s. “I didn’t achieve what I’ve achieved by myself,” she says. “My first job at Cisco came through a Queen’s connection. My first big customer in my own business was also a Queen’s alum. The community opens doors in ways you don’t expect.”
It is a lesson she now shares with students when she returns to campus as a speaker and mentor, which she did recently as the keynote speaker at the Dean’s Scholars Reception. “With AI and technology, being the smartest person in the room isn’t the differentiator anymore,” she says. “What matters is community and taking action, listening to that little voice that tells you to try something new.”
Giving back has become a central part of her relationship with Smith Engineering, whether through volunteering, mentorship, or philanthropy. “It’s easy to start by giving your time,” she says. “That’s how I built many of the relationships that shaped my career. Young people can make a difference.”
She also believes alumni support is essential to the university’s future. “There’s an assumption that governments will fund universities indefinitely, but that’s not reality,” she says. “Alumni need to step up to ensure the next generation has the same opportunities we did, and I want those same opportunities to be there for my kids.”
For van Berkel, the value of a Queen’s education goes far beyond the classroom. “I loved my applied math courses, but that’s not what defined my experience,” she says. “It was the people, the risks I got to take, the leadership opportunities. I don’t think there’s a better place to grow as a person.”
Perhaps most importantly, she encourages graduates to see their connection to Queen’s as ongoing. “Your time at Queen’s doesn’t end when you graduate,” she says. “I’ve had just as much fun being part of the community after I left. Don’t let that chapter close. Figure out how you want to stay engaged and go create that opportunity.”