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Welcome to the world
I'm born in the Lower Mainland, where my parents have moved after my dad finished his Masters. I'll grow up here, and move back after university. I'm the oldest of two children. -
Baby brother
My brother Auden is born in 1985. We're very different people (he's definitely more of the wild child than I am, and much more competitive) but we're close as children, and remain so as adults. -
Kindergarten
I start school in White Rock, BC. I honestly don't remember much about my kindergarten year, except one vivid memory of some boys telling me that I could be either Janine (the secretary) or a ghost when we were playing Ghostbusters, because "girls can't be a ghostbuster." -
Never not exploring
As a child, and later as an adult, I have always loved exploring the outdoors. My summers were spent at my family's cabin on the Gulf Islands, where I split my time between the tidepools at the beach and the forest behind the cabin. Now, as a teacher, I love getting my students out into the outdoors where they can explore for themselves. -
French Immersion
In grade 6 I entered Late French immersion in my hometown of Langley, BC. This would be the start of a lifelong love of the French language. -
French exchange student
I've continued in French Immersion through to the end of high school, and the summer after I graduate high school my parents decide to host an exchange student from France for one month in the summer. Julie and I get on like a house on fire, and her family invites me to stay with them the following summer, before I start university. -
UVic
After taking a year off after high school I start my university career at the University of Victoria. I am taking pre-business classes, as my original plan of attending Ryerson in Toronto for Film and Television production hasn't panned out, and I'm feeling a little lost. -
I switch majors
After realizing that business isn't the disclipline for me I switch my major to Anthropology after taking a few classes in the fall semester. I still don't know what I want to do as a career after university exactly, but I do know that I love studying anthropology. -
Language Assistant in France
I decide to take a year off of my studies to work as an English language assistant in France. I'm sent to two middle schools, to work with small groups of students by hosting informal conversation groups. I spend my free time traveling around Europe, and visiting my friend Julie as much as I can. At the end of my trip my mom comes to France and we spend several weeks traveling together in Provence and Corsica. The eight months that I spend working and living in France really solidify my French. -
Field school
I've finished my B.A., but still need to complete some field experience if I am hoping to get a job as an archaeologist. I spend 2 months near Harrison Hot Springs, BC, helping to excavate a pit house and map a small village site on the Chehalis and Harrison rivers. -
Consulting Archaeologist
After finishing field school I get a temporary contract with a consulting firm as a field archaeologist. I'll go on to get a permanent job with the same company, working primarily on large construction and infrastructure projects in northern BC, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories and Saskatchewan. I'll do lots of fieldwork in the summer, and report writing in the winter. It's exciting to get to see many different places in our country. (And yes, those are mosquitos in the photo). -
I meet Greg
I'll first meet the man who will become my husband at a friend's house (he's a friend of her roommate). He'll then go off to work overseas and we won't start dating for another year. When he does get back to Canada he is working first as a tree planter and then as a forest fire fighter, while I'm still doing archaeology, so our relationship start off with lots of long distance. However we make it work -
Girl Guides
As a girl I was both a Guide and a Pathfinder, and now, as an adult, I have decided to volunteer as a leader. I love it! Over the past 10 years I've worked with girls from ages 7-18, taking them camping, running weekly meetings, planning large events for our area, and even volunteering at SOAR, a 2-week long camp for 3000+ people, held every 3 years in BC. This summer was supposed to be another SOAR year, which was cancelled because of COVID. -
I start planning to switch careers
I start thinking that I may not want to be an archaeologist forever. I'm starting to wish that I could have time in the summers to spend with friends and family (I'm currently always in the field), and I'm also looking at what opportunities there are for promotion (not too many). Girl Guides has shown me that I love working with children, so I decide to go back to school and get my teaching certification. I have to take some additional courses before I can apply to teachers college. -
PDP @SFU
I start the Professional Development Program at Simon Fraser University with a semester in France. I've previously applied and been accepted to the French Immersion teaching cohort and have learned that SFU has an exchange program with a university in Tours, France. I will spend an extra 4 months taking classes on how to teach Français Langue Étrangère (essentially our ELL, and akin to what we teach in French Immersion). University in France is much different than Canada but I have a great time -
You can call me Mme
My B.Ed is completed and I've started working in the Surrey School district. There's a shortage of French Immersion teachers in BC, so I've found it relatively easy to find a job. I start as a TTOC, but by September I have a continuing position as a kindergarten teacher, once again given the shortage of French teachers. It's an inner-city school, which has it's share of challenges, but I love working with the students and the other teachers. -
Married
Greg and I are married in the summer of 2017. It's a low-key affair - essentially a large family BBQ at a local heritage museum. There's burgers and corn on the cob, and mini train rides for anyone who wants one. It's perfect for us. -
M.Ed, here I come!
One of my best friends at school is our TL, and I've been hanging around the library loads in the past year. Boy, does her job look amazing! I'd been previously thinking about going back to school to do my masters, and I end up deciding to apply at the University of Alberta so that I can hopefully become a TL when I have completed the program. -
New grade, maybe new method of teaching?
After having taught kindergarten for several years I feel ready for a new challenge. This school year I'll be jumping up a few grades and teaching grade 2 for the first time. While schools in BC are starting back with 100% in class teaching this September, I can only imagine that there's the possibility of moving to remote or blended teaching at some point this school year, if our COVID cases increase. I expect that flexibility is going to be our "motto" for the foreseeable future.
