In August 2015 I completed my Bachelor of Education degree at the University of British Columbia with a specialization in secondary English. Looking back, I see how my life experience has brought me to this point.
Growing up in Ottawa, Ontario, I had a passion for working with youth that infused all that I did. Whether it was working as a camp counsellor as a teenager, or leading Sunday School classes or youth groups at my local church during my undergrad, I continually chose activities that involve working with young people.
During my fourth year of undergraduate, I truly discovered my affinity for teaching English Literature. At the time, I was taking a course in Elizabethan and Jacobean Drama and had to present a seminar on Christopher Marlowe’s play Dr Faustus. Preparing for that seminar moved me beyond research as I thought about delivering my material in an engaging manner that promoted discussion. The seminar presentation itself was a heady mixture of adrenaline and terror as the class engaged in a spirited discussion of the play’s theology: did Faustus have free will? While I do not remember the ultimate conclusion of our discussion, I have not forgotten my excitement and the knowledge that I had found my calling.
Was it fate? Dr. Faustus, the play that inspired my journey as an educator.
Having completed my Bachelor of Arts in English at the University of Ottawa, I continued on to graduate work. Although I contemplated offers from various universities, I decided to attend the University of Western Ontario because their admission offer provided me the opportunity to be a teaching assistant. I completed my MA in English and eventually received my PhD at the University of Western Ontario; not surprisingly, given my beginnings with Dr. Faustus, my specialization is Shakespeare and his contemporary dramatists,. During my time at Western, my love for teaching literature deepened. Following my doctorate, I worked as adjunct faculty at Western and then as an Assistant Professor at Tyndale University College in Toronto, Ontario. Because Tyndale is a small liberal arts college with class sizes averaging around thirty students, I was able to cultivate individual pedagogical relationships with my students and become invested in their personal and academic success.
After settling with my family in Vancouver, I eventually stepped away from academia to spend time with my young children. When it was time to return to work outside of the home, I considered what fuelled my passion as an educator– cultivating enthusiasm for literature to small classes of students. With that pedagogical passion as my guide, I decided to return to UBC for my B.Ed. The journey has been humbling and inspiring and I am excited to see what is in store for me next!