Graduates contribute to community
Sandra Nelson may have been studying for a pharmacy degree, but she's also become an expert in the art of juggling.
For the past four years, the single mother from Castlegar has balanced her school work in the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences with raising a young child.
"I wanted to provide a good livelihood for myself and my daughter," says Nelson. "I decided on pharmacy because there are job opportunities in health care."
A Castlegar resident, Nelson finished a qualifying year of math and sciences at Castlegar College and then moved to a Vancouver basement suite with her 10-year-old daughter, Ashley. With her support system left back in the Kootenays, Nelson had to manage on her own.
While the experience gave her a lot of confidence, moving to the big city from a town of only 7,000 took some getting used to.
"It was a bigger shock than I had anticipated," she says. "Life is a lot busier down here."
Preparing for labs and classes also required more time than Nelson had expected. And she had to adjust to a few classes as large as 200 to 300 students after being used to as few as 16 in Castlegar.
The hardest part of juggling the demands of being a parent and a student was just trying to have some sort of family life, Nelson says.
"I didn't do much except work on my homework and spend time with Ashley -- I'd usually start studying once she went to bed," Nelson says.
Nelson impressed faculty members with her commitment.
"Sandi's very determined to make a better life for herself and her child and she's done that at considerable personal cost," says Judy Kotow, who supervised Nelson's directed studies program.
Kotow cites reduced income, lack of a car, and distance from family as some of Nelson's challenges.
Last fall was particularly difficult, says Nelson, when she and her daughter were separated. Ashley lived in Castlegar with her grandparents while Nelson stayed in Vancouver to finish course work.
"That was rough," Nelson says. "But I knew I'd be back in Castlegar by Christmas and I didn't want Ashley to change schools half-way through the year."
Nelson has depended on bursaries to help finance her studies.
"Without the bursaries, we would not have made it," she says.
She supplemented her income with part-time work in the faculty, part of a work-study program offered through UBC's Financial Aid Office.
So has it all been worth it?
"Absolutely," she says. "I've been a good role model for my daughter and now I know I can provide for her."