Amanda Martin

 What education have you taken?

The majority of my BA and nearly the first year of my B.Ed.(AD) were completed at a community-based program called the Brandon University Northern Teacher Education Program (BUNTEP) in Dauphin between 2005 and 2010. More recently I’ve taken courses on campus during the Spring 2017 session in the Program for the Education of Native Teachers (PENT) and I am now finishing the final year of my degree on campus as a regular session student in the Faculty of Education. I believe this unique educational path has resulted in a very rich learning background that will shape my approach to teaching and learning as I prepare to begin my formal career as an educator.

What accomplishments are you proud of?

Although it was some time ago, I am still proud of my high school experience. I aim for excellence in every area of life, and I feel this was greatly developed during my high school years in my approach to academics, extracurricular activities, community involvements, and student leadership roles. Another accomplishment I am equally proud of is the work I did in my part-time job while taking courses at the BUNTEP Centre in Brandon. I was given both great responsibility and autonomy in my position for a company that felt more like family. The highlight of each year there was my role in hosting the awards gala evening at our national convention of consultants. As I head into the last few months of my B.Ed.(AD) program, I feel a sense of accomplishment particularly in coming back to finish the degree after years away from formal education; now with a young family in tow. However, it is my family that brings me the greatest sense of pride, as marriage and parenthood have been the most fulfilling pursuits of my life.

Tell me about yourself.

I’m a small town girl. I grew up on a farm just outside Roblin, MB. I enjoyed my school experience at both the elementary and high school level. In my graduation year, I was accepted to Brandon University; however, just before grad, I made a last minute decision to put my education on hold to instead attend a “gap-year” program, involving hands-on volunteer work out of a large church in Regina, SK. This included a month in the UK volunteering with various organizations as well. I was married the next fall and worked for a year as an Educational Assistant in Grandview, MB., at which point I then relocated to Dauphin and began my BA/B.Ed.(AD) through the BUNTEP Centre. Following the birth of my daughter in 2009, I completed my BA in 2010 and with about a year remaining in my B.Ed.(AD), I made the decision to put my education on hold again to raise my family and support my husband in building a software development business. In 2016, as my youngest child began kindergarten in the same Roblin classroom that I myself had attended kindergarten many years before, I applied to the B.Ed.(AD) once again and relocated my family temporarily to Brandon in the fall of 2017. I now look forward to convocation this spring and am incredibly thankful to my husband, children, parents, and friends who have supported me through and made it possible.

How did you become interested in your field of study?

As long back as I can remember! As a grade two student, I wrote in my diary that I wanted to become a teacher when I grew up. This declaration had been preceded by years of “playing school” with a classroom that consisted of my brother and various stuffed animals. Schooling has always been a positive experience for me and I have had many teachers who have inspired me through their examples to continue in my pursuit of becoming an educator. While I may have appeared to wander away from a formal education path at various points in my life, I kept returning. It seems now that it was always meant to be!

What is your philosophy in life?

Walk in truth and love. Seek the good in both people and circumstances. Life is a gift — be grateful for how far you’ve come. Fully embrace the moment, and look to the future with hope.  

Where do you see yourself in the future?

Using my influence — whether in the position of parent, teacher, colleague, friend, or fellow community member — to help those around me recognize the value that lies within them, and to encourage and support others to develop their unique gifts and abilities to have a positive impact on the world in which we live.