Education

Enrolled in Kindergarten at Joseph Burr Tyrrell Elementary School in Fort Smith, NT in September 1983, and I continued my education there until June 1986, when my family moved to Yellowknife. (K-2)

Enrolled in grade 3 at St. Patrick Elementary School in Yellowknife, NT in September 1986, and I continued here until June 1990. (3-6)

Enrolled at St. Patrick High School in Yellowknife, NT in September 1990. I graduated with a General Diploma in June 1996. (7-12)

Granted admission to Augustana University College in Camrose, AB in September 1996, registered as a Music Major/Drama Minor. I left Augustana in December 1996. (Aug-Dec 96)

Returned to Yellowknife, where I re-enrolled at St. Patrick High School and completed upgrades to my diploma in June 1997. (Jan-Jun 97)

Granted admission to the University of Alberta in Edmonton, AB in September 1997, in the Transition Year Program. I completed one and a half years of a Bachelor of Education program before quitting school to deal with some important personal issues in my life. (97-99)

Gap Year (99-00)

Granted admission to Grant MacEwan College in Edmonton, AB in September 2000, in the Travel Consultation Program. I was not satisfied with the program, and had missed a key day at the beginning of the year that explained several important caveats of maintaining my spot. I was subsequently removed from the program after one semester. I continued on at Grant MacEwan until April 2002 as a part-time student, taking evening classes while working during the day. (00-02)

Granted re-admission to the University of Alberta in September 2002, where I was registered in the Bachelor of Arts program, with a Spanish Language and Literature Major and a Japanese Language and Literature Minor. I completed two years of this program until I switched my major and minor to Political Science and History respectively in March 2004. I graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Arts degree in April 2005. (02-05)

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Career

I'm afraid that my career information is not as extensive. All told, I have about 6 years worth of Retail Sales experience; about 5 years Childcare experience in a variety of settings; and 6 years of Clerical/Administration experience.

I do tend to strongly emphasize my volunteer and extracurricular experience over my job experience because I believe it better demonstrates my problem solving and communication abilities. I was heavily involved in the University of Alberta Model United Nations club (UAMUN), and went to three conferences in Vancouver, Ottawa and New York City, where I learned a few things about myself:

  • I have a knack for being able to talk to people who are not always easy to talk to. Difficult situations will often put me in the position of being a conciliator, or at the very least, a buffer.
  • I am very careful with my words, and will typically try to work out opposing points of view before I speak. I’m a suspicious person by nature, and I want to hear what someone else says while holding back so that I can counter if need be.
  • I am not very approachable. I make a terrible first impression, and there’s something wrong with the way I look, because people won’t even sit beside me on the bus. So it makes things uniquely difficult when trying to negotiate.

Professionally, there’s no way of telling how traits like these will help or hinder me until I’m in a workspace, but I always do my best to interpret the situation I find myself in, and respond appropriately.

In terms of where I’d like to see my career go in the future, Rod and I moved out to Burnaby so that I can try to pursue a Master’s degree in Public Policy at Simon Fraser University as a step to getting the kind of jobs that can assist in policy development and analysis.

Over the past few years, I have focused on finding a career in the world of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), working as an advocate for worldwide improvement in Global Health. I believe strongly in the unfettered right to access quality basic health care as part of development in underdeveloped countries, as defined in Article 25 (1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. And yet every year, more cases of Infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Polio and Tuberculosis are reported, and every year, people continue to die due to lack of basic medical care and proper nutrition.

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