Author: mira gupta

Our group had the privilege of interviewing Debbie West, an alumni of UBC who has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology, as well as a Masters in Anthropology and Masters in Social Work. Currently employed by Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) as a therapist at her own private practice, Debbie West helps individuals heal from trauma and manage depression, anxiety, and loss. Her interest in exploring one’s identity and one’s “true-self,” as well as her desire to help individuals overcome personal struggles drew Debbie to the field of therapy and eventually, to set up her own practice. During the interview, it became evident that her love for art (painting, writing fiction and poetry) is an important part of her identity and thus, is a special component to her counselling practices. Debbie’s unique transition from her education to her career dispels the misconception that your university degree defines your career. Debbie’s path illustrates that giving your interests and passions the room to develop throughout your degree will help you navigate your education such that it leads you to a career that is personally meaningful to you.

 

Post-secondary education was not the norm in Debbie’s family. The concept of pursuing post-secondary education for Debbie was not discussed in her household. However, Debbie was driven to learn, even if it meant deviating from her family’s beliefs and expectations. From a sociological perspective, she may have made this choice because post-secondary education is often required to compete in the labour market. Even though Debbie entered university as a mature student, she expressed that she often doubted herself; perhaps being an older student and lacking the support from her family alienated her, which deterred her abilities to relate to her peers – a concept demonstrated by the homophily principle. Further, there were  times when she questioned whether she could handle the workload and demands of university. Nonetheless, her passion for learning and perseverance  resulted in the receival of a dual bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Anthropology. Therein, she wishes her first-year self had been more confident, and advises current first-year students to believe in themselves.

 

Supported by her professors, Debbie decided to pursue a Master’s degree in Anthropology at UBC shortly after receiving her undergraduate degree. During her Masters, Debbie had the opportunity to work at the UBC Hospital as a social worker where she developed clinical skills and realized her passion for helping others to overcome trauma. Spending time in the acute psychiatry ward, interacting with patients and families she was motivated to pursue a second Master’s degree in Social Work. Debbie was confident that a Master’s degree in Social Work could open doors to a career she loved. Additionally, she required the Master’s degree to support the work she was doing at the hospital.

 

Debbie’s transition from university to career overlapped with her university life. She was already working in the hospital under the condition that she was going to get her masters in social work. She said that acquiring her degree enabled her to succeed in her job as it made the transition between the two very simple for her. When asked what advice she would give to students who are graduating now, she said that the most important thing that has changed is that the world has become smaller with the implementation of technology and communication devices. She advised that students value the relationships that they make and that their network will play a large role in a student’s career path. This can relate to Activity 1, where we had learned the pervasiveness of networks in our lives. What we learned in class was reaffirmed when we heard Debbie, someone currently working in the field reinforce it.

 

Currently, working as a counsellor, Debbie’s unique experiences and background, including battling cancer earlier in life facilitates her ability to empathize with her patients. She enjoys working with patients to help them overcome difficulties they’re facing as she considers it an honour to be a part of people’s journeys and transformation. She also works with the VCH, where she treats patients who suffer from addiction. A very broad social issue, addiction is treated in a highly individualized and personal manner, as no two cases are the same. Therefore, as a therapist, Debbie takes on large social issues but hones in on each individual’s experiences. It was obvious that Debbie thoroughly enjoys her work and feels a sense of satisfaction in doing so. She expressed that she’s always looking for a way to propel her career, especially during periods of stagnancy. When asked how her career would change had she not been already working at the hospital at the time of getting her Masters in Social Work, she said she would have most likely worked with nonprofit organizations.

 

Although it wasn’t a norm in her family, Debbie’s self-motivation enabled her to pursue and accomplish a double major undergraduate degree and two master’s degrees. Her unconventional education path is a testament about how following ones passions can lead people to a career in which they have valuable contributions to offer. While many students in university follow a linear path, the branches in Debbie’s educational path have helped her thrive with a career that she loves. Debbie’s transition illustrates that your post-secondary education helps define your career, but not to the extent that most students believe. With that said, Debbie’s career also demonstrates that your background doesn’t define your success. Rather the unique barriers one faces, be it gender, race, socioeconomic status, or sexual orientation, will play a pivotal role in how one navigates and defines their success. While each individual faces unique barriers, exploring the intersection of your passion, experiences, and your work will set you apart in the workforce. Debbie’s story is a reminder that university is an opportunity for self-exploration, finding your interests, and meeting like-minded individuals. Therefore, as students, it’s important for us to acknowledge our passions, to have the courage to accept challenges throughout our degree and our careers.

 Activity 1: My Personal Network

During the analysis of my personal network, I established that the contexts/Institutions that had the greatest impact on me was my Family and High school, Pre-school and College. After my parents divorce, I became close to my mother/her family and lost touch with my father/his family completely. However, the surprising conclusion was that my social institutions were equally split into two: ‘Friends’ and ‘Family’. My self-assumption prior to this activity that my ratio between friends and family would, favor the former was proved wrong. The first insight created within my personal network was that I do have a strong sense of family as a social institution within my network, which has shaped my values and mannerisms. Reiterating Charles Cooley: my family does indeed serve as a primary group in my primary socialization.

Referring to social inequality, my nationality/race and social class have demarcated my personal network. Coming from the middle-higher class strata in western India, Bombay: I found the “strange in the normal” when I realized how jarring it was that my personal network was not economically diverse whatsoever. In India, I’m surrounded by the dichotomy of rich and poor. Within my personal network there is a complete hemophilic (-0.1) measure for social status. Moreover, my nationality shaped my network as majority (-0.6) of my network share the same nationality, sociocultural practices as me. With the E-I index of -0.2 for the amount of ‘Students’ under ‘Occupation’ in my network, I gathered that I’m deeply affected by people my own age, whose lives run parallel to mine through education. Since I’m to major in Psychology, the E-I Index measuring who in my personal network are studying or have previously studied Psychology read to be -0.067. This revealed that even my aspirations are influenced by the network I surround myself with!

Within my personal webwork, my mother and childhood best friend have the maximum ties. This structure of interconnectedness depicts: the closer an individual, the more ties to other individuals. My network reveals dense connectivity, but does not create distinct groups. My friends and family have both strong and weak ties with one another. The one evident group created is my friends under “UBC/college” in ‘Context/Institution’ who only have ties within themself. The strong ties wound between between people are not because of them knowing me, but the weak ties created are through my facilitation.

The three people in my closest circle are my two childhood friends and mother. The second tier of closeness encompasses the people who I’ve known from my adolescence and the least close people are people I’ve met relatively recently. Thus demonstrating a connection between the number of years of the relationship and their closeness to me. My biography further clearly indicates that most of my network was introduced to me in my childhood, less in my adolescence and even less in my young adulthood/UBC.

My experiences have limited me in some critical ways. The cloistered and conservative Indian culture, has socially defined my university experience and me. As a first year I haven’t been completely socialized to Canada. This has affected the way I behave as an individual within other social groups. However, I only realized the social mannerisms I inculcated from UBC once I was in back in previous social setting, India. This made me think about Symbolic Interactionism, in which George Mead and Charles Cooley stated that the meanings of things arises from social interaction and as such is constantly in flux. The meaning behind expressing gratitude or a greeting is completely unalike because of the different manner of interaction in each unique society.