New Job!

This week I was contacted by the department head of the Social Service Worker program at Langara College in Vancouver. She wanted to know if I was available to teach a course this fall. It seems a colleague of mine from UBC now teaches in that program and recommended me for the position. I met with the team on Thursday and was so pleased to be offered the (part-time and temporary) position. The college is very nice - small, but it seems to have a full complement of facilities and support for faculty and students. The morning I interviewed, we made the rounds of the various offices and I was provided keys, a phone number, an office, my paperwork was pushed through, slaray point established, arrangements were made for a mail box etc - all in the course of less than 3 hours. All that was outstanding by the time I left campus was my computer account and login and my parking pass.

The program is a one-year entry level program, designed to prepare students for either direct work in the field, or for further education. All of the students move through the program as a cohort and it appears that a real emphasis is placed on teaching and on supporting student achievement and success. I am excited to see what it is like to work at a teaching-focused institution and, especially, to try out my teaching skills. This really seems like a terrific opportunity - I'll start on Tuesday participating in the student orientation with the other faculty, and then my first class will be on Friday. The course is a community practice course - not my focus area when I went to school, so I expect, as was often the case when I was a TA for a new course, that there will be a lot of learning involved for me, as well as for my students.

I will also continue to work as a Teaching Assistant and as  Research Assistant at UBC, as well as work on my own research, so I anticipate a busy autumn, and probably a very busy year. I don't mind really - I am just feeling relieved at this sign that there may actually be a career out there somewhere when I finish up with all of this education!