1. Tell us about yourself: My name is Tiffany Hawkins and I completed a Master of Education in Leadership & Administration ’17
  2. What are you doing now?: I currently serve as a Vice Principal.
  3. Why did you choose a program in the School of Education at Gonzaga? I chose Gonzaga’s program in order to become a vice principal and eventually a principal. The program came highly recommended by Gonzaga graduates as the best professional development they had participated in. It was offered in Kamloops, so I didn’t have to do any courses remotely or by correspondence. The work and opportunity to study with colleagues expanded and challenged my professional capacity and opened new career paths for me.
  4. What influenced you the most during your time at Gonzaga? The closeness of our cohort. Even when you are exhausted at the end of the week and you have class at 4:30pm, by being with the group, I was re-energized as well as cared for. We laughed, cried, and got frustrated together. It was very powerful! Several of our professors cared about our well-being just as much or even more than our assignments. This allowed me to want to do well and push forward even though sometimes it felt impossible!
  5. What was your greatest lesson learned at Gonzaga? Time management and learning to prioritize items. Professional growth and learning does not stop at the end of the program. It has lead me to continue with learning through professional conversations and readings. I look forward to what else I can learn!!
  6. What is the most rewarding aspect of working in your field? Most challenging? Students growing emotionally due to the relationship that I worked to develop with them – being able to trust and begin to change their attitudes and negative behaviour. Relationships with staff – I find I am very strong in this area, which allows me to provide support as well as the ability to being the instructional leadership aspect of my job. The most challenging issue was being able to support children and families that are difficult to help. The issues can range from stating that they do not need help to the school and community providing excellent supports, but the family is not taking these lessons to help their family grow emotionally. As a result, the students struggle to function at school because they are not ready to learn due to instability at home.
  7. What critical issues do you see that need to be addressed in your field? We need to have counsellors at the elementary school level. We have many students entering our school with significant mental health issues that go above and beyond our abilities as teachers and administrators. These issues are not limited to our inner city schools. This can be found at any school in any area.
  8. What advice do you have for future education professionals? This field is extremely rewarding even when it feels overwhelming or it seems like you will not make it. During the process, make sure you have a strong support group, manage your time, and make sure you also take care of yourself. At the end of the day, if you are not well, you will not be successful. Do want you enjoy. Challenge the norm and yourself. It may be messy and uncomfortable, but the end result will be very rewarding.