josie nguyen
Presentations
English
University of Calgary
Faculty of Education
WHY I CHOSE MY program
I have always had a huge passion for English literature and it was one of my favourite subjects throughout elementary to high school. I also respected my teachers a lot throughout school, and decided that becoming a high school English teacher was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life! English literature may be something that some people may deem unnecessary, but I think is very influential in our world and captures many of the issues we face – even literature from over 500 years ago is still very applicable to issues in contemporary society. I think we can all remember the one teacher we had back in school that helped changed the trajectory of our lives for the better, and I hope to be that to someone one day, and also hopefully get my students to learn how to love Shakespeare!
FUN FACTS ABOUT ME
I have a huge passion for anything relating to Shakespeare or Victorian fiction! I also have played piano for ten years now and have a black belt in Taekwondo. In my free time you can probably find me practicing piano, baking, playing sports, or raving!
MY BEST TIPS & ADVICE FOR STUDENTS
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It’s okay to be unsure of what you want to do after high school, in fact, it’s totally normal! If you feel like you need some time to figure out what you want to pursue, I always recommend people to take some time off to really find what’s for them!
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There’s no shame in needing to upgrade if your grades are not high enough to get into the post-secondary school or program you want. It’s better to upgrade sometimes instead of trying to transfer out of programs in university, as sometimes the transfer GPAs for certain programs in university are outrageously high, so make sure you talk to university advising to see what transfer GPAs are like and if it would be easier to apply with high school grades.
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University is not as scary as you think it is. I was really nervous and scared on my first day, but I soon came to realize that it was a super fun environment and a lot of the people you meet in post-secondary are usually in the same boat as you are, so a lot of the people you meet are super chill!
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If you’re scared of not being able to make new friends in university because all of your friends are going to different schools, don’t be! A lot of other people will probably feel the same way, so join some clubs and don’t be afraid to talk to new people in your classes because odds are they’re probably going to appreciate a new friend!
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Get involved in post-secondary by joining some clubs at school because it really helps to expand your network and help you meet new people!