As we reach the end of this academic term we start to wonder where has all the scheduling and planning and promises to stay on top on our work gone. We’ve all taken at least one LFS course before, and by this time we know our way around our piling towers of essays and papers. But encouragement is always needed, so here’s a Q&A I got to do with my homeroom TA, Rachel Gutman. Rachel was once an LFS350 student herself, now she gets to sit in the first row on the left-side of our lectures with all the other TAs and gets to mark our awesome reflections and papers.
Thanks for your supportive feedback Rachel!
And to everyone else, hold on, the end is near. The end of the term that is.
-H
Q&A
Q: What is your educational background?
A: I am in my final semester of my BSc in Global Resource Systems where I have focused on Food and Resource economics. Before UBC, I spent two years at Uvic studying biology. Over the course of my degree I’ve taken courses at 4 Universities!
When did you take LFS 350
I took LFS 350 in the fall 2011 semester
Q: What made you want to TA LFS 350?
A: Many reasons. Last year I worked at a local high school mentoring a garden club. There, I realized how much I enjoyed teaching and thought helping LFS students through their projects would be a meaningful experience. Also, I’m planning on going to graduate school in the next few years and thought that TA-ing as an undergrad would give me a leg up when applying.
Q: What is it like TA-ing LFS courses?
A: This is the first class I’ve ever been a TA for so I don’t have anything to compare it to! But I’d imagine you have the opportunity to interact more with your students. In the LFC series, there is a lot of time spent in homeroom and I get to interact with all my students every class. As a TA, it’s really wonderful to get to know everyone and their projects.
Q: What advise do you have for students from your past experience as a student?
A: Keep in touch with your community partners! The most valuable thing I’ve gained from the LFC series and CBEL projects are the connections I’ve made with my community partners. My community partner in LFS 250 was the Environmental Youth Alliance. Through this connection I was able to get an internship with their Growing Kids program the following year.
Q: What advise do you have for students from a TA perspective?
A: Take time to critically reflect on the skills you’ve gained through your projects, many of these are transferable to the work place. Community mapping, survey building, interviewing, soil sampling- all these things can go on a CV! Even if your project did not go as well as you hoped, being able to work effectively in-group settings is an invaluable skill to have.