My first sight of a university without a gate was in 2022 when I landed in Canada and visited Memorial University for the first time. The aura and symbolic idea of a gate-less university contrasted sharply with my experience of a typical university in the Global South. For security, border demarcation, and ownership, a fence … [Read more…]
Territory Acknowledgement The province of Newfoundland and Labrador is situated in the traditional territory of various Indigenous groups, and I respectfully acknowledge the diverse histories and cultures of the Beothuk, Mi’kmaq, Innu, and Inuit who have called this place home since time immemorial. Introduction Before undergraduate studies, I was unaware of the diverse Indigenous history … [Read more…]
Growing up as a disabled person in Newfoundland, I never considered what being disabled genuinely meant until I began thinking about what life after high school should look like for me. Looking that far into the future was a scary endeavour, one that I continue to think about as I navigate through the last few … [Read more…]
Mature students often have the subtle connotation of being luddites. Unable to successfully negotiate the academic world, our pursuits are admirable, but ultimately doomed. At 39, I felt the alienation of a repetitive work environment and the longing for intellectual stimulation and fulfilment. I started by listening to a philosophy podcast (Philosophize This! – It’s … [Read more…]
Hello everyone!!! I am super happy and excited to write to you all again! I hope you are having a wonderful time and preparing for the summer! Next week, I will be performing an oral presentation at a conference in Quebéc. While I was preparing my slides – and thinking about all the poutine I … [Read more…]
Ah, spring! There is new life being breathed into everything around us. This time of year always makes me feel inexhaustible like the ever increasing daylight. We emerge from under our layers, our homes and our winter routines to embrace the boundless opportunities like we embrace the warmer days. Here is the problem: I am … [Read more…]
Helloooooo everyone! I hope you are doing great, and enjoying some of the warm days we are having. There you go, 12 °C is warm now! Canada teaches you how to enjoy little things really quick. On my way to MUN, I started seeing forms of life again, including seagulls. To our misfortune, these crazy … [Read more…]
I have heard many times that graduate school is a marathon and not a sprint. In fact, in her blog post last week Amy Sheppard said this very thing! I wanted to expand on this idea because for the past year I spend most of my time either running or working on my thesis. I … [Read more…]
Helloooooooo everyone! I am so excited to be writing for you again! I hope you are all doing well, enjoying all the snow (cause all the freezing rain is hard to enjoy), and having a great time in your Winter semester. In my case, I could not find anything else that could describe my 2019 … [Read more…]
The end of the year is a very reflective time, where we devote more awareness to the important connections in our lives. For this post I wanted to share what I have come to learn about the importance of connection and community during my time in academia. We often feel like we are alone and … [Read more…]