How’d I Get Here?

Two questions have to come shape many of my life experiences and have influenced the approach that I face each day with in all aspects of my life until this point: “How’d I Get Here?” and “Where Do I Go From Here?” Born the oldest of three children in a lower middle-class family to very young parents trying to provide the best they could, my journey, both personal and professional, has had many of the highs and lows that make so many educators unique.

While my early years were not particularly anomalous when compared to thousands of other children throughout Canada, including having to overcome financial hardship, moving beyond familial legacies of substance abuse, a general mistrust of educational institutions, and a negative view of formalized education as a whole, it was not until my early teenage years that real hardship struck me for the first time. When I was 14, I broke my neck in a high school wrestling accident and almost lost my ability to walk forever. At this point, and during many others in my recovery, I believe that a desire to be “doing more,” and ultimately “being more” than my individual circumstances and experiences began to first take shape.

From this point on, it strongly became my belief that people, and children in particular, are greatly influenced by their experiences, both internal and external, but that they can not, and should not, be defined by them. That being said, I admittedly haven’t always been a willing participant to rush into challenges head-on, but hanging on to the goal of “being more” has always remained present throughout my entire life, whether it be for my own family, or with the families and children that I work with on a daily basis.

As a result, despite the fact that I am still not entirely sure where my educational, professional, and personal experiences will lead me in the foreseeable future, I still firmly believe that there will always “be more” to be done, and I will meet those challenges whenever, wherever, and however they may arise.

With this in mind, I would like to thank you for taking the time to view this portfolio, and I look forward to answering any questions and engaging in any discussion that may arise as a result.

Please see listed below the courses which I completed at UNBC as part of this program in chronological order:

Fall 2023

EDUC 601           Educational Research Design and Methodology

EDUC 635           Educating Exceptional Students

Winter 2024

EDUC 610           Qualitative Analysis in Education

EDUC 636           Language and Learning Disabilities

Spring/Summer 2024

EDUC 633           Human Development: Implications for Education

EDUC 634           Achievement Motivation

Fall 2024

EDUC 622           Psychoeducational Assessment

EDUC 655          Collaboration, Communication and Community: Leaders as Community Builders

Winter 2025

EDUC 609          Aboriginal/Indigenous Learners: History, Culture and Ways of Knowing

EDUC 796         Portfolio