Work Study Experience
UBC Equity & Inclusion Office, May 2019 – Present
How did the experience transform your learning?
I was hired over the summer by the Equity & Inclusion Office. With the support of the office, we have been able to go to conferences and have conversations with Vice-presidents of different universities. I feel that being able to have conversations about anti-racism and how we tackle similar issues is powerful and a great learning experience.
I am an introverted person, so doing workshops where we facilitate conversations with groups of people was initially very nerve-racking for me. Over my work-study term I have grown my social, especially my facilitation skills immensely; and, recently my colleague, Mimi, and I successfully conducted a workshop to one hundred Jumpstart leaders.
We do something called “What’s the Word Wednesday?”, where we share two words on our social media platforms, and let people choose a word for us to explain. I know that personally, it has helped me learn some really interesting terminology and concepts, and I found that very transformative.
Additionally, we set goals for ourselves and reflect on them for each week, month, or semester. For me, the most reflective one was after the September conference where we had a meeting to discuss the initiatives that we wanted to take on and what events we were going to conduct this semester. We were given a lot of freedom and support in choosing what initiatives we wanted to tackle, and I think that helped me reflect on what I had learned and where the gaps in my knowledge were.
What did you learn that you weren’t expecting to?
I feel that everything that I have learned and done was very different than what I had originally expected. I started my position after finishing my term as the President of the African Caribbean Student club, and I was assuming that I would be doing similar administrative tasks, but it was completely different than I had imagined. I have learned how to design social media campaigns, the skills of facilitation, and so much more.
Working with the Equity & Inclusion Office has also helped me find my passion and has been pivotal for my academic career, specifically in the pursuit of a Master’s of Public Health. I feel this choice will be a great way to bridge my work within the office to what I am learning in the classroom.
How did you learn about the opportunity?
I had known Jenica Frisque, the Equity Facilitator on campus, beforehand through my work with the African Caribbean Student club, so when I saw the summer job posting on the job posting board, I applied for the position.
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