Szu Shen

 
The Routes of Uranium and Its Impact on Indigenous Communities in Canada and across the Pacific
 
Why did you decide to pursue a graduate degree?

I decided to pursue a graduate degree because it allows me to have the time, space, and financial support to engage with research questions in a focused and specialized manner. I especially appreciate the chance to work closely with UBC’s superb faculty members whose scholarship and teaching have been a great source of inspiration both personally and professionally. In the meantime, being a graduate student at UBC has helped me to develop and sharpen my professional skills through opportunities to be a teaching assistantship, a research assistantship, and, most recently, a program coordinator at the newly established Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies Program.

Why did you decide to study at UBC?

I decided to pursue my doctoral studies at UBC—where I received my master’s degree in 2012—due to its unparalleled academic strengths and the various ways it can provide the necessary support and resources for my research. Such support includes the strength of the faculty members in the Department of English, the First Nations and Indigenous Studies Program, and the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice as well as the exciting energy and conversations coming out of student initiatives concerning broader social issues such as multicultural understanding, Indigenous resurgence, and environmental justice. Institutionally, I have greatly benefited from the resources and opportunities made available by intellectual clusters such as the First Nations House of Learning, the Institute of Asian Research, St John’s College, and the Asian Canadian and Asian Migration Studies Program. In addition to the amazing array of academic and social events held on campus, I have also extended and broadened my learning experience beyond the university through Vancouver’s thriving cultural scene and community initiatives.

 
 
 

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