Welcome back to our Associate Director, Strategic Aboriginal Enrolment Initiatives, Kristen Pike (you might remember her as Kristen Harvey) who has been away on a leave of absence for the past year.
What’s your position in ES and what do you do in that role?
I serve as the Associate Director, Strategic Aboriginal Enrolment Initiatives. My work is guided by UBC’s Aboriginal Strategic Plan – and the soon-to-be finalized Indigenous Strategic Plan.
I work with a network of colleagues across the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses to identify and remove barriers to Aboriginal student enrolment. For example, I chair the Aboriginal Working Group, report to the Aboriginal Strategic Plan Implementation Committee, and help create initiatives like the Aboriginal Undergraduate Research Mentorship.
What did you do during your leave of absence?
I want to start by saying that great work was still happening here at Enrolment Services while I was away. Thank you to Meika Taylor and the many other colleagues who helped remove barriers to Aboriginal student enrolment over the last year.
The main thing I did on my leave of absence was take classes. My goal was to explore options that will ultimately lead me to a graduate degree. I made a lot of connections throughout the year, including with fellow students and instructors like Dr. Ben Cheung. Recently, Dr. Cheung wrote an interesting opinion piece about reconciliation and Indigenous education – it’s worth a read!
I also did a bit of travelling, including a road trip to San Francisco and a trip to England. A highlight of the trip to England was checking out the Jurassic Coast – a UNESCO World Heritage site and filming location for a show on Netflix called Broadchurch.
Where and when did you get married? What was your favourite part of the day?
I had a backyard wedding in Langley in July 2017. A number of my family members had to evacuate their homes just before the wedding because of the wildfires in Williams Lake and surrounding areas…so my favorite part was sharing the day with loved ones.
Tell us something people might be surprised to learn about you!
I am a volunteer mentor to a young person in foster care through the Urban Native Youth Association (UNYA). I’ve had a great experience with UNYA and would recommend the organization to anyone looking for opportunities to give their time and support.