Aradhita Arora a obtenu son dipl\u00f4me de BSc Psychologie (Honours) et avec une mineure en gestion (management). En plus de ses \u00e9tudes, gr\u00e2ce au programme Work Study, elle est la coordonnatrice culturelle \u00e9tudiante d\u2019Espaces francophone UBCO.<\/p>\n
Originaire de Gurgaon, en Inde, elle cherchait une universit\u00e9 offrant des bourses d\u2019\u00e9tudes dans les domaines d\u2019\u00e9tude qui l\u2019int\u00e9ressent. M\u00eame si UBC Okanagan n\u2019\u00e9tait pas son premier choix, la bourse d\u2019\u00e9tudes lui a permis d\u2019\u00e9tudier au Canada. Aujourd\u2019hui, elle est heureuse de vivre \u00e0 Kelowna, gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 la famille et \u00e0 la communaut\u00e9 qu\u2019elle a r\u00e9ussi \u00e0 se construire. Espaces francophones a jou\u00e9 un r\u00f4le important dans cette trajectoire!<\/p>\n
Poursuivez votre lecture pour en savoir plus sur le parcours d\u2019Aradhita \u00e0 UBC Okanagan et sur ses projets avec Espaces francophones.<\/p>\n
J\u2019ai choisi des \u00e9tudes en psychologie parce que les gens me fascinaient, et cela a \u00e9veill\u00e9 mon int\u00e9r\u00eat pour la psychologie sociale. De plus, j\u2019ai appr\u00e9ci\u00e9 la nature interdisciplinaire du sujet, je ne me suis jamais sentie limit\u00e9e. Tous les jours, j\u2019ai \u00e9tudi\u00e9 quelque chose de nouveau, mais connect\u00e9. C\u2019\u00e9tait imm\u00e9diatement applicable \u00e0 la r\u00e9alit\u00e9, ce qui rendait le sujet tr\u00e8s attrayant. La psychologie combin\u00e9e avec la gestion, \u00e7a m\u2019a donn\u00e9 l\u2019occasion de m\u2019investir dans mon apprentissage exp\u00e9rientiel et puis d\u2019appliquer mes connaissances dans des aspects qui diff\u00e8rent de ma vie comme mon travail, mes habitudes d\u2019\u00e9tudes, mes relations avec les autres et mon bien-\u00eatre mental et physique.<\/p>\n
En 2022, j\u2019ai vu une offre d\u2019emploi Work Study de coordonateur.ice culturel.le sur le tableau d\u2019affichage d\u2019UBC Okanagan. J\u2019avais toujours eu envie de participer \u00e0 des activit\u00e9s li\u00e9es au fran\u00e7ais sur le campus, mais je n\u2019en avais encore jamais trouv\u00e9. Alors, la possibilit\u00e9 de travailler avec Espaces francophones m\u2019a aid\u00e9e \u00e0 rester en contact avec la langue fran\u00e7aise. D\u2019ailleurs, les composantes du poste correspondaient \u00e0 mes forces et me donnaient envie de travailler. J\u2019ai d\u00e9cid\u00e9 d\u2019envoyer une demande et j\u2019ai re\u00e7u une offre!<\/p>\n
Pendant mon premier \u00e9t\u00e9, j\u2019ai travaill\u00e9 avec mes deux superviseurs pour \u00e9tablir les bases d\u2019Espaces francophones. Cela inclut la conception de notre \u00abmarque\u00bb, le logo pour la collaboration entre les deux facult\u00e9s, le mat\u00e9riel promotionnel, la cr\u00e9ation d\u2019une page Instagram avec les publications et les reels, la cr\u00e9ation d\u2019une infolettre,, la conception de de nouvelles id\u00e9es d\u2019\u00e9v\u00e9nements, la familiarisation avec la culture canadienne-fran\u00e7aise, etc. J\u2019\u00e9tais responsable des communications et de la commercialisation, mais aussi de la gestion des \u00e9v\u00e9nements et de l\u2019archivage des donn\u00e9es pour m\u2019assurer que l\u2019\u00e9quipe de direction reste en contact avec nos projets de d\u00e9veloppement. Durant ma deuxi\u00e8me ann\u00e9e \u00e0 Espaces francophones, mon r\u00f4le s\u2019est pr\u00e9cis\u00e9. Je suis maintenant sp\u00e9cialis\u00e9e dans la gestion des \u00e9v\u00e9nements, la collaboration avec les partenaires communautaires et institutionnels comme le Centre culturel francophone de l\u2019Okanagan, des entreprises comme Cr\u00eape Bistro, ou encore des services de UBCO comme le Student Experience Office ou Picnic. Je m\u2019occupe aussi du recrutement et de la gestion d\u2019une \u00e9quipe de 8 \u00e0 10 b\u00e9n\u00e9voles qui m\u2019\u00e9paulent dans la r\u00e9alisation des activit\u00e9s et des \u00e9v\u00e9nements. Dans mon r\u00f4le, j\u2019ai prioris\u00e9 l\u2019engagement des \u00e9tudiant.es, la r\u00e9tention des b\u00e9n\u00e9voles et un meilleur alignement de notre programmation sur la culture canadienne-fran\u00e7aise.<\/p>\n
Pendant l\u2019\u00e9t\u00e9, je suis d\u00e9j\u00e0 impliqu\u00e9e sur le campus de l\u2019universit\u00e9 \u00e0 cause de mon r\u00f4le de conseill\u00e8re en r\u00e9sidence (R.A.) et d\u2019adjointe acad\u00e9mique (academic assistant) pour la facult\u00e9 d\u2019\u00e9ducation. Je fais le point sur les performances de l\u2019ann\u00e9e pr\u00e9c\u00e9dente et j\u2019analyse les tendances pour am\u00e9liorer la strat\u00e9gie de commercialisation et l\u2019engagement des \u00e9tudiant.es pour Espaces francophones, pour le programme de B.A. en fran\u00e7ais et pour le programme de B.Ed. en fran\u00e7ais. De plus, je suis en train de pr\u00e9parer notre calendrier des \u00e9v\u00e9nements pour l\u2019ann\u00e9e prochaine!<\/p>\n
Ma participation \u00e0 Espaces francophones m\u2019aide \u00e0 combiner ma passion pour la langue fran\u00e7aise et pour le soutien et le d\u00e9veloppement des \u00e9tudiant.es. Par cons\u00e9quent, je cherche aussi un emploi \u00e0 temps plein o\u00f9 je pourrai continuer \u00e0 travailler avec les organisations francophones et avec les institutions pour qui le fran\u00e7ais est important.<\/p>\n
Quand j\u2019\u00e9tais en premi\u00e8re ann\u00e9e, j\u2019aurais aim\u00e9 conna\u00eetre l\u2019importance de s\u2019engager et de s\u2019impliquer dans notre communaut\u00e9 sur le campus et au-del\u00e0. Alors, comme conseil, je voudrais dire trois choses. La premi\u00e8re, c\u2019est de regarder autour de soi. Nous avons beaucoup de ressources disponibles en plus de l\u2019universit\u00e9 et des autres organisations qui peuvent nous aider dans notre parcours universitaire. La d\u00e9couverte de ces ressources le plus t\u00f4t possible peut nous aider \u00e0 utiliser la bonne ressource au bon moment. La deuxi\u00e8me chose importante, c\u2019est de rester inform\u00e9 et de planifier l\u2019avenir. Regarder autour de soi est une fa\u00e7on de rester inform\u00e9.e, mais c\u2019est important de faire ses propres recherches, de parler avec les autres, avec les profs, de recevoir les conseils des autres, d\u2019apprendre des exp\u00e9riences des autres et de mieux se pr\u00e9parer. De plus, si on planifie mieux, on peut mieux g\u00e9rer notre temps et tirer le meilleur parti des possibilit\u00e9s qui s\u2019offrent \u00e0 nous. Ce n\u2019est pas n\u00e9cessaire d\u2019avoir une vie bien d\u00e9finie et toute r\u00e9gl\u00e9e d\u2019avance, mais si on a un petit projet et des objectifs personnels, on peut r\u00e9duire la panique (!) et d\u00e9velopper son assurance. Enfin, le troisi\u00e8me conseil, c\u2019est d\u2019utiliser chaque exp\u00e9rience pour r\u00e9fl\u00e9chir et pour apprendre quelque chose de nouveau sur soi-m\u00eame. L\u2019universit\u00e9 est une \u00e9tape de croissance et de d\u00e9veloppement, ce qui peut \u00eatre mieux fa\u00e7onn\u00e9 si l\u2019on t\u00e2che de mieux se conna\u00eetre soi-m\u00eame. L\u2019acquisition de comp\u00e9tences et de connaissances, en plus de nous aider \u00e0 nous am\u00e9liorer, peut aider \u00e0 r\u00e9duire les comparaisons avec les autres et \u00e0 comprendre ce qui fonctionne mieux pour soi \u2014 pour se sentir plus autonome dans ses choix et ses d\u00e9cisions.<\/p>\n
Aradhita Arora recently graduated from UBCO with a BSc Psychology Honours with Minor in Management. In addition to her studies, Aradhita has been working as a Cultural Coordinator and Facilitator for the Espaces Francophones project for the last three years.<\/p>\n
Coming from Gurgaon, India, she was looking for universities that offered scholarships along with areas she wanted to study. And while UBCO was not her first choice, she was offered a scholarship making it possible for her to come study here, and now says that she is happy to call Kelowna her home – a family and community she has been able to build, and Espaces francophone has had a huge role to play in that.<\/p>\n
Aradhita shared some information with us about their time here at UBCO and what they are doing with Espaces Francophones.<\/p>\n
I majored in Psychology Honors with a minor in Management. I chose Psychology because I\u2019ve always been a people person and it fascinated me to learn more about social psychology, and because of its interdisciplinary nature; Psychology never restricted me. I was always learning something new yet interconnected. The applicability of the subject made it very intriguing for me, as I was able to indulge in experiential learning and apply my learning to different aspects of my life such as my work, my learning practices, my relationships, my physical and mental well being, etc.<\/p>\n
In 2022, I saw a work study job posting for Cultural Coordinator, and am inclined to get involved in a French club\/resource on campus but never found anything active. Working with Espaces Francophones would mean an opportunity for me to stay in touch with the French language, and the components of this role truly spoke to my strengths and excited me to work \u2013 so I applied and got the job.<\/p>\n
I started working with 2 supervisors on building Espaces francophones from the ground up. This looked like designing a brand and logo for the program initiative, selecting promotional material, setting up an Instagram page with posts and reels, setting up an email newsletter, coming up with event ideas based on the franco-Canadian culture and more. I was responsible for event management and execution, handling communications and marketing, completing documentation and keeping my supervisors in the loop, and brainstorming ways to expand. In my second year, my role narrowed down a bit. I specialised in event management, external collaborations, and volunteer management. I was responsible for debriefing and analysing trends from our first year to then draft a new event calendar, collaborate with campus and off campus partners such as Picnic, the Student Experience Office, Cr\u00eape Bistro, Centre Culturel Francophone d\u2019Okanagan, and recruit and manage a team of 8-10 volunteers across the year to assist with event execution. A lot of my work also revolved around volunteer retention, student engagement in events, marketing events to seek attention, and incorporating different aspect of the francophone\/franco-Canadian culture into our programming.<\/p>\n
Having recently graduated, I am still employed as an Undergraduate Academic Assistant of the Faculty of Education. For the summer, I have been conducting debriefs for last year\u2019s performance and preparing a new events calendar for next year. I have also been analysing past trends and finding new ways to integrate our events into the community as well as increase student engagement. Working with Espaces francophones not only helped me recognize my passion for student support and development but also for the French language. Hence, I am currently looking for employment after the summer to continue work with Francophone organisations or institutions where French integration is prevalent.<\/p>\n
What is one piece of advice you would give to first year students, and what you wish you knew when you started university.<\/strong><\/p>\n As a first-year student, I wish I knew more about club involvement, jobs on campus, and the importance of getting involved in the community as well as the benefits that one can reap from this involvement. To anyone who\u2019s in their first year, I\u2019d say three things. Firstly, gaze around. As a student, so much is available to us and most of us aren\u2019t even aware of it. From discounts to resume reviewing, universities put together a lot of resources to help students transition and carve their journey. Gazing around helps students get a good idea of everything they have access to\/is available to them so that they can use the right tool at the right time. Second, in line with the first piece of advice, is to stay informed and plan. Gazing around is one way of staying informed. But additionally, do your research, talk to your peers and professors, take that piece of mentorship\/advice that you\u2019re getting so that you can learn from others experiences and better prepare yourself. Additionally, planning can be an essential component to help one manage their time better and ensure that they are making the most out of the opportunities available to them. This isn\u2019t to say that you should have your life laid out for you, but planning for things you\u2019d like to achieve and having back-ups can help reduce panic and gain confidence. And lastly, use every experience as reflection to learn more about yourself. University is a stage of growth and development, and it can be shaped better if you know yourself. Building skills of self-awareness and improvement can help reduce comparison, understand what works better for you, and make you feel more empowered in your choices and decisions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Aradhita Arora a obtenu son dipl\u00f4me de BSc Psychologie (Honours) et avec une mineure en gestion (management). En plus de ses \u00e9tudes, gr\u00e2ce au programme Work Study, elle est la coordonnatrice culturelle \u00e9tudiante d\u2019Espaces francophone UBCO. Originaire de Gurgaon, en Inde, elle cherchait une universit\u00e9 offrant des bourses d\u2019\u00e9tudes dans les domaines d\u2019\u00e9tude qui l\u2019int\u00e9ressent. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":22145,"featured_media":489,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-486","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-profile"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/espacesfrancophones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/espacesfrancophones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/espacesfrancophones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/espacesfrancophones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/22145"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/espacesfrancophones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=486"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/espacesfrancophones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":503,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/espacesfrancophones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/486\/revisions\/503"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/espacesfrancophones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/espacesfrancophones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=486"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/espacesfrancophones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=486"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/espacesfrancophones\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=486"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}