Hi! I’m Veronica, a fourth-year doctoral student in School and Applied Child Psychology at the University of British Columbia. As a second-generation Chinese Canadian, I grew up navigating multiple cultural worlds, and this continues to shape both my personal life and professional path. I currently live on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Matsqui, Kwantlen, Katzie, and Semiahmoo First Nations, whose Indigenous ways of being, knowing, and living continue to guide and inspire me. Before starting my PhD, I worked as a school psychologist, supporting children, youth, and families through assessment and collaborative problem-solving in schools. My research focuses on newcomer youths’ experiences of school integration. Using an arts-based engagement ethnography approach, I explore how newcomer youth navigate belonging, identity, and learning through a social justice lens. Outside of graduate school, I’m a mom to a spirited little boy who keeps me grounded, joyful, and endlessly curious. I love spending time with my family and friends. Those moments are my greatest joy. I also enjoy pilates, exploring beaches, playgrounds, and forest trails with my family, and travelling! If I could give my pre-grad school self a piece of advice, it would be: Nurture your sense of balance. Family time is just as important as academic milestones, and both deserve to be cherished.