Hi! My name is Maya, and I am going into my third year at UVic in the Bachelor’s of Education Program. I was born and raised in Victoria, B.C., and have been set on being a teacher for many years, inspired by my mother and my passion for the pursuit of knowledge. Most of my teaching background comes from being a swim instructor, as well as occasional volunteer opportunities in fitness education. 

 

I look forward to a career in education and further exploration into the links between fitness, classroom education and cognitive development. I have spent most of my life exploring physical fitness, spending 14 years as a competitive swimmer, and have most recently taken up running and boxing. Through my journey in athletics, I have discovered multiple ways of embedding learning into fitness, and looking at fitness beyond the scope of physical fitness and strength, but also mental health, cognitive development, and learning through movement and social interaction. I also have a lot of interest in social media, and its impact on students’ development both cognitively and in regard to mental and social health, something I wish to further explore not only in this course, but in my future academic endeavours. I plan to graduate in 2028. After doing so, I look forward to exploring my master’s in Child Psychology/mental health, or fitness and its links to cognitive development. This course will be a great opportunity for me to take a deeper look into what social media means for the future of education, as well as how it can impact learning and development both negatively and positively for youth as well as adults. 

 

Beyond academics and fitness, I have a huge passion for reading and writing, as well as music. You can often find me in my room with a romance novel and a Noah Kahan record playing in the background. I was lucky enough to get tickets to his concert in August (though my wallet was not as thrilled as I was), and I cannot wait to see him in person. My writing skills are not by any means outstanding, but I have had the opportunity to submit some works to small local competitions, nothing too exciting, but definitely fun nonetheless. I really enjoy experimenting with different forms of text and writing (poems, short stories, novels, etc.) and often use writing and storytelling as a way to connect/display my learning and understanding in academics.