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What They Don’t Tell You About Taking a Ph.D
Margaret Hearnden To be clear, I don’t regret studying for a PhD. Looking back, I realize I had no idea what I was letting myself in for (both in good and less fabulous ways). While everyone’s journey toward a doctorate is unique, there are general aspects I wished I’d known before I started. Researching humans and their experiences is both fascinating and frustrating. Procrastination can be addictive. And who knew that life doesn’t stop happening just because I have a chapter to write?
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Ajinkya Chodankar I would like to share the story of my wellness journey, How I took responsibility for my health and sought mental and physical help to better myself. Even after losing +/- 70lbs body dysmorphia is a everyday struggle.
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Vivian O Vaillant Most girls with ADHD are not diagnosed as children, but there is growing evidence that women are just as likely to have ADHD as men. For many women, going off to post secondary is the time where the diagnosis is caught. This is my story about finding my diagnosis, and learning to live with ADHD as an adult |
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The Naga and the Garuda: Living and learning on the Chao Phraya River in Thailand Mark Herringer I lost my job unexpectedly when the private training company I was working for delivering immigrant settlement support went bankrupt in a small community. It was during a challenging time for finding work, so since my experience previously had been international, with some financial risk, I left for Thailand to look for work. My wife at the time was supportive and stayed back in Canada to see if I would be able to secure work. After 2 months, I was able to secure a job that I still consider my favourite as the director of the "Chao Phraya Barge Program' that was a new experiential education program that used a renovated teak rice barge as a 'floating classroom' on the Chao Phraya river between Bangkok, the present capital of Thailand, to Ayutthaya one of the historic capitals. My wife joined me on this adventure, and my team of educators and I worked with Thai and international school students from grade 5 to University designing a variety of programs to suit their needs that included history, social studies, biology, watershed considerations, geography, environment, etc. These were all delivered on the barge that was designed by the owner/architect, Mom Luang Tridosyuth Devakul to sleep 20, with composting toilets, full galley and teaching deck and 'crows nest'. I look back on that time in my mid 30’s and am still a little amazed at the series of events that began with the loss of a job in Canada and transformed into over a year of discovery of a river, its culture and my own path forward. |
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How did I get HERE? This isn't the path I had planned on... Nicole Novak This is about my career journey, and realizing that the timeline I had set for myself wasn't going to happen the way I thought it would. The changes throughout my life have shaped my careers and various work experiences, and trusting myself and weathering challenges made me stronger and more resilient. |
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Felicity Blaiklock In 2018, my partner and I booked our first walking holiday. Choosing how to do this was a bit of a challenge - we are keen walkers (but not hikers); we love people, but we prefer not to walk in groups; we love the outdoors, but prefer not to camp (a comfortable bed and a great restaurant are big priorities!). We eventually found the perfect solution: self-guided walking holidays with varying levels of difficulty and length in some of the most beautiful parts of the world. We chose to walk the Amalfi Coast in Italy – a 6-day trip across a spectacular coastline. If you are interested in this type of vacation (and enjoy pasta and red wine after a 15 km walk), I am happy to tell you all about our trip! |
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Anita Budisa-Bonneau I am happy to share about the transformative experience of studying or living abroad. I like to travel internationally because it allows me to immerse myself in different cultures and countries which provides me with a much better appreciation for where I live and opens up my worldview so that I am more open to diversity and different ways of doing or living. I have lived and worked or studied in Quebec, Croatia, Japan, Australia, and France. |
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We are Different, but the Same Ivanna Carrillo Hi, I am a Mexican, 22 year old women. At home, I’m the oldest sister, in my thoughts will always be my family but when I knew I could travel and come here, very far from home I didn’t doubt it. It’s funny how at home, we live our lives the way our culture taught us, but here we are, with the same dream, with similar ideas. We are here to be better every day, and it can means a lot of things. Maybe you are here to discover yourself, or to find out if you are studying the right degree. Maybe you just wanna have fun. I want you to know that I get it. Because we may be very different but we are all the same. |
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Sherryl Eagle I started working on an undergraduate degree in my early 20s. Life, 2 kids, cats, dogs, horses, a 15-year marriage, a business and before you know it I was 45 and single with two young-adult kids. So I finished my BA when I was 46 and my Master of Education when I was 48. It's never too late! |
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Casey Caldwell What's it like to be a secondary school drop-out and enter law school? What's is like to be the first woman to work as a brakeman in the 1970's? What’s it like to leave your country, friends, and family and become an expatriate when most of your peers are retiring? |
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Getting to know you: the importance of figuring out who you are and what you love Lucas Evans From the oil sands of Trinidad to kelp harvesting on Vancouver Island and graduate work on the glacial slopes of New Zealand - loving what you do has been the key to persevering through any obstacle. I continue to be motivated by the work being done by NIC's students and through the research activities of CARTI and NIC's faculty. |
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Manpreet Kaur I would like to share how I overcame the challenges and struggles of being an international student. This is my journey of living 6 years in the Comox Valley and how I went from an NIC business student to an NIC employee in the Office of Global Engagement. |
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Let the Bridges You Burn Light the Way Jenny Botica Succeeding as a woman in a male-dominated, unconventional career that includes harnessing a profession with a long history of disempowering descendant communities to shed light on these injustices. |
