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Arriving at the completion of my Master of Education degree is bittersweet. I truly enjoy learning, sharing, researching, writing, and inquiring. The friendships, relationships, and connections I've made over the past two and a half years will remain with me beyond the completion of this degree. Learning is a lifelong journey - I don't ever wish to stop learning. There is so much more to be discovered within the realm of education, and I'm so grateful to be a part of it. As this degree comes to a close, I've had plenty of time to learn about education, develop my passions in education, learn about myself, and reflect upon my future goals and aspirations. Within this, I've reflected upon where I'd like to be, what I may offer, and what I'd like to share within the world of education. The above image "The Willow Tree Part V" (Kokinis, 2021) is a photo of the willow tree that has been taken from below, with blue skies in the distance and a reflection of the sun, symbolizing and representing for me the future ahead.

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Professional Goals

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One of my professional goals is to engage in post-secondary instruction, ideally at UBC, helping to share knowledge and awareness of important theories and literature within the realm of education, sharing insight into my experiences and learning from others' experiences in a safe and supportive environment. I believe that students could teach me just as much as I could teach them, and I look forward to one day having a reciprocally beneficial educational journey as an post-secondary educator. A second professional goal of mine is to become a child care licensing officer in the Vancouver region. I aspire to continue expanding my knowledge of the importance of health and wellness and a holistic education - through my goals of promoting a culture of appreciation and understanding of a holistic approach to education among early childhood educators, parents, and/or government officials; of identifying and illustrating the potential of practices supporting children’s well-being that help to support children’s development; and of shedding light on the importance of relationships in the early childhood years, and to demonstrate the vital role that relationships play in a child’s well-being and education. 

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Acknowledgements

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To UBC - When I look back on my life, having the opportunity to complete the Master of Education program at UBC has been one of my fondest memories and one of my greatest accomplishments. UBC is and will always be home to me. I am grateful for UBC and for all that it stands for, for all of my instructors and for all of the fellow students and dear friends I've connected with and have met over the past 7 years - you've all impacted my life positively and meaningfully in one way or another. To all my fellow M.Ed cohort students, I am so honoured to have studied alongside you all and to have been apart of this wonderful journey with you. You all have so much wisdom and knowledge to share. I'm so grateful that we had the opportunity to share, grow, relate, and learn together throughout these past few years. At times it was tough, but as with all good things in life, nothing worth having comes easy. We can finally say that we did it - congratulations! 

 

To my parents and to my family - Thank you for always being the rock and support behind me, for always providing with the backbone that I needed, when I needed it. Thank you to my family for helping when I was running on little sleep, going from work to study to work to study and everything in between, and for always bringing encouragement where you could. Having been the first person in the history of my family to attend university to complete a Master's degree, I am so very grateful to the generations and generations of my family members before me, for all they have sacrificed and for all the hardships they had faced so that I could have the opportunity to be here today. I'm able to be here because of all of you in one way or another. Thank you. 

 

To Matthew - The level of support and love I've felt from Matthew throughout my degree has been astonishing. There were times when stress was at an all time high and there were times when I didn't think my plate could get any fuller. To Matthew - thank you for always encouraging me to push forward and to work harder towards my passions; thank you for being there when I needed someone to talk to; thank you for making me laugh when I was too worried to do anything else. Thank you for being you and thank you for being a part of this journey with me. 

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And last, but very not least, to Mari - not only is Mari my Program Supervisor, but Mari is a dear human being that I have deeply connected with in many ways over many years. Mari was my instructor for several courses while I was still in my Bachelor's degree studying Psychology at UBC, and it was then that I realized early childhood education was for me. Truly, it was Mari that inspired me to enter the realm of early childhood education. Mari has such a deep passion for education and taught with such dedication - it was so inspiring to me and it was then that I knew I wanted to follow the path of early childhood education myself. Over the years, I had experienced great hardships while studying with Mari as my instructor, and I fondly remember the level of empathy and care that I received from Mari. Thank you Mari for all of your support, feedback, generosity, and most of all, thank you for your patience. You are a dear friend and a wonderful human, and I am so grateful to study alongside you. 

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May you never stop learning, may you never stop growing, and may you never stop dreaming. 

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With gratitude,

Anastasia