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More about me, Christine

Well, you asked for it; the other day I asked your opinions on upcoming blog posts. I received an outstanding number of ideas which I am excited to write about in the coming weeks. But before I dive into these topics, you also asked to hear more about me, my research and my story. I figured this week is a good place to start and I am excited to share it with you all. I hope I will be able to shed some light onto what has brought me where I am today, what my day-to-day currently looks like with my school and projects, as well as where I want to head in my future. So here it goes, a glimpse into the past, present, and future of Christine.
How I got here:
With my values of social justice strong, my love of the social work profession started in the unlikely place of a Research Methodology & Statistics course in the second year of my undergraduate degree. I applied, was accepted and completed my Bachelor’s of Social Work Degree at King’s University College at Western University in London, Ontario. I had social work placement positions at a local NDP Constituency Office, and at the Student Development Centre at Western University. During this Degree, I learned the importance of research in the profession and went on to pursue my Master of Social Work Degree at the University of Calgary, which was completed in 2012. This degree was focused in community and international development, as well as results-based management. I completed a social work placement position in Geneva, Switzerland at the International Social Service, Reference Centre.
Since then I have worked in Saint Lucia, at the Organisation of Eastern Carribean States. As well as World Vision Canada in its Programs and Policy Division. I further worked on social work research projects involving youth social exclusion and civic engagement, as well as professional suitability in social work.
Before heading to Ottawa, Ontario for my Ph.D., I spent time working at York University in the Research and Innovation Division. And I still currently work there (5 hours a week – full time in the summer).
My current schedule:
I know every Ph.D. program is a little different and I wanted to share with you what my schedule will look like for this current year and next, while I finish my courses. I am currently registered in the Social Work Program with a Specialization in Political Economy
First Year | Fall | Winter |
0.5 SW6101 Theoretical Foundations | 0.5 SW6102 Ethical Foundations | |
0.25 SW6303 PhD Seminar | 0.25 SW6304 PhD Seminar | |
0.5 SW 6401 Critical Pedagogy | 0.5 SW6105 Advocacy Practicum | |
0.5 PECO 6000 Political Economy Core Concepts | ||
= 3 | ||
Second Year | Fall | Winter |
0.5 SW6201 Theory & Methods | 0.5 SW6202 Research Design | |
0.25 SW6301 PhD Seminar | 0.25 SW6302 PhD Seminar | |
0.5 Elective | 0.5 SW6500 Qualifying Exam | |
= 2.5 |
After I successfully complete my comprehensive (qualifying) exams, I will move onto my research proposal, dissertation and defense (with hopefully some teaching experience along the way).
My current projects:
My advocacy practicum is currently with a project on Re-Imagining Long-Term Care and supporting them in sharing it’s research findings through unique opportunities such as animation videos.
I am also involved in another two research projects and slowly working towards writing and publishing papers for both of these projects.
And in my spare time, I am contributing my time to blog posts and the co-creation of logic models with the YouthREX project. YouthREX helps promotes the integration of research evidence and evaluation in the development and delivery of Ontario’s youth programs.
My future research:
I plan to explore what the current context of precarious employment (insecure work such as contract positions, non-paid internships, nonstandard employment, positions with no benefits etc.) in Ontario looks like for youth, as well as mapping precarious employment across social dimensions, locations, and contexts. This research will enable me to identify factors contributing to precarious employment, indicate the most common in various industries, occupations, and geographical locations. As well as improve employment outcomes for youth in the Ontario labour market. I also intend to address intersects such as gender/sex, race/ethnicity, for youth precarious employment for young women and men’s well-being and inclusion.
If you couldn’t yet tell from above, I also have interests in:
- Research and Evaluation in Social Work
- Precarious Work
- Youth Social Exclusion
- Social Work Education
- Models of Assessment and Professional Suitability in Social Work
- Political Economy of the Welfare State
- Labour Market in Ontario
- Non-Standard Employment in Ontario
- Anti-Oppressive and Structural Approaches to Social Work
- Social Policy
I hope I was able to answer some of your questions. If you still have more, ask them in the comments below or over on Instagram (happy to share more).
Okay enough about me – now I want to hear from you!
- What year are you in?
- What are you studying?
- What is your research about?
- Whats your schedule?
- And what projects are you currently working on?
Until next time,
P.S Don’t forget to use #ScholarCulture #ScholarSquad #ScholarSunday to keep me updated on your experiences as grad students.
P.P.S Applying to grad school for the 2018/19 school year? Check out this FREE eBook on 5 steps to a successful grad school application. Are you in grad school and struggling to find easy lunches to bring to campus? Check out three FREE recipes and full nutritional information here.
4 responses to “More about me, Christine”
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Hello, my name is Tom. I am a full-time physical education teacher and coach. I coach middle school boys soccer and track. I am also our strength and conditioning coach for our high school. The school I teach at is in New Port Richey, FL.
Appreciate you sharing your story. Awesome story!
I did my undergrad work at Truman State University in Kirksville, MO. My graduate work was done in Maryville, MO at Northwest Missouri State University. I received my Master of Science in health and physical education in 1993. And yes, I am getting ready to start work on my doctoral degree in March of this year. My doctoral degree will be in health and human performance.
I want to do research that has to do with peoples personalities and how peoples personalities affect their adherence or non adherence to exercise. I am also interested in researching how effort is related to pain and how much people are willing to exert to exercise. Specifically, the target population I want to do research on are adolescents.
My program will be totally online through Concordia University Chicago. I will be able to continue my work as a teacher and coach while I work on pursuing my Phd.
I am excited and looking forward to the challenge of my program. At my age of 50 young years old I am thankful and grateful to be able to work toward earning a Phd.
Appreciate you setting up this blog. It is nice to network and share with others who are working on their Phd. Thank you!
ATD! Attach The Day!-
Thanks for sharing your story, Tom! Your research sounds super interesting! Keep it up and good luck pursuing your PhD alongside your work.
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My name is Ashley. I’m a second year PhD student at the University of Arkansas officially studying Marketing. My program is multidisciplinary so I’m taking classes in sociology, communication and psychology. My research interests are about how vulnerable populations experience the marketplace, specifically in terms of public policy. I’m in my last semester of coursework (yay!) and am taking comprehensive exams end of May (eek!). Right now, I’m taking contemporary social theory, interpretive methods and consumer culture theory and teach an undergraduate class MWF.
Our dissertations are broken up into three essays. My first essay is looking at how participation in government assistance programs induces stigma and shame in individuals.
Thanks for doing what you do, Christine!
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Hi Ashley! So nice to e-meet you. Your research sounds so interesting, would love to chat more about it.
Congrats on being in your last semester of coursework, how exciting! And good luck with your comps, I am sure they will go well.
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