Martina Wilkison in her classroom at OKM
Martina Wilkison graduated with a B.A. in French and English. In an interview, she mentioned that she was initially drawn to UBCO’s FCCS because “I grew up in the Okanagan and have always loved living here, so UBCO was a natural choice. UBCO offered great French and English courses and the study areas that I wished to pursue.”
Martina’s academic pursuits as an undergraduate focused on literary works from a variety of time periods in both French and English. During this time, she was also given the opportunity to apply the knowledge she gained from her studies while overseas: “I was fortunate to go on an exchange to Lausanne, Switzerland. It was a great opportunity to deepen my understanding of the French language and of French cultures.” Back on campus, “I also had the opportunity to work at the Academic Resource Centre (now known as The Writing & Research Centre as a writing tutor. I enjoyed working on campus because I was able to use the skills I had developed to help other students from various academic disciplines.”
Martina’s wide range of experience, coupled with her degree, has enabled her to become a French and English teacher at Okanagan Mission Secondary while she completes her Masters in Education. “I already knew that I wanted to become a teacher when I began my BA at UBCO. It provided me with the tools that I needed to get accepted into the secondary teacher education program at UBCO. I’m thankful for the writing and reading skills that I developed during my undergrad. They have made my transition to graduate studies much smoother.”
Martina Wilkison
UBCO’s French program offers a sophisticated and multifaceted set of courses that add value to any prospective student’s applicable skills. For Martina, “my studies in French and English gave me a solid background in the subjects that I currently teach. The course options that were available in the French program gave me a wide breadth of experience, in literature studies, grammar, spoken French, and film studies. Having a degree in French has been an asset in both in my career and in my personal life (travelling, cultural experiences).”
In closing, Martina explained: “I appreciated the smaller class sizes that UBCO has in comparison to larger universities. I enjoyed getting to know my professors, an experience that I would not have had in a larger university. UBCO’s FCCS ultimately offers a quality learning environment and experience in beautiful surroundings.”
This story was written by Brandon Taylor, English major in FCCS. Brandon is a Research Assistant in FCCS, contacting alumni to find out about their experiences here at UBCO.