The Voice Magazine recently had a chance to chat with Kaleigh (she/her), from Calgary, Alberta, a Bachelor of Arts student, majoring in Sociology and a minoring in Anthropology Kaleigh hopes “to become a social worker and [is] thinking about transferring into the social work program at UofC after two years.” She continued, “I want to open a sanctuary for teenagers in the system to come heal and learn how to adult instead of being thrown into it the moment they’re 18. With an animal shelter on the side.”
On a personal note, Kaleigh, who goes by Kal, is a 19-year old who lives with her friends and family. She continued, “I have a deep passion for music and photography and I deeply enjoy being outside. I was born in Calgary, but I grew up in a small town, about an hour from Edmonton, Alberta. I’ve got two siblings, an older sister, and a younger brother. Yup, I’m the middle kid. I’ve got a big ole dog named Zeus that we call our miniature horse. He is 9 months old and probably almost 100lbs, and not fully grown yet.”
The Voice Magazine asked Kaleigh how she best studies, and the motivated student had some great processes. “My dreams and goals for the future keep me motivated to keep working. I’ve never been academically gifted but I work my hardest and get the job done by throwing on some music and zoning into what I’m doing. (Even if it does take me 2 hours to convince myself to do it).”
She also some great advice for new students or prospective students. “Don’t give up, there’s a reason you’re here and you chose to come back to school after high school. You’re doing amazing, you’re achieving goals and ask for help everywhere you can because it’s not a bad thing to do.”
When she is not studying, Kaleigh works on building her photography business, or is playing games or watching movies with her partner. She also mentioned that her life has been impacted by a David Goggins book, Don’t Hurt Me. She explained, “It challenges me every day to not let my past be an excuse to not achieve my goals, and to not settle just because I’m comfortable. Life isn’t meant to be comfortable.”
She had a unique answer on who in her life has had the greatest influence on her desire to learn. “My desire to learn has always been something influenced by media, by the people around me. My goal in life is to make people smile and with the way the world is some days I feel one more person making people smile doesn’t hurt,” she stated.
Kaleigh is an experienced online learner. “I’ve been online schooling since about 7th grade. It’s hard, I definitely find it difficult to keep to a schedule and not blow off school for more fun events but it has taught me more about myself and how hard I am willing to work to achieve what I want in life,” she stated.
Her most memorable AU course so far has been SOCI 305: Sociology and Crime, finding it “so fascinating learning about all the different interpretations of crime in the eyes of sociology and what has gone on throughout history.” She continued, “The first assignment I got to pick a topic on was psychosis as a cause of crime!”
As for communication with her course tutors? “I am very much so a person who avoids phone calls as much as possible, the communication as of right now is honestly something I prefer. Mostly emails and comments,” she stated.
The Voice Magazine also asked Kaleigh, which famous person, past or present, she would like to have lunch with, and why, and she chose wagu steaks with potatoes with Marilyn Monroe.
Her most valuable lesson learned in life “is that you are never done learning new things, the moment you believe you know all is the moment you stop having the possibility to continue thriving and advancing in life.”
And her proudest moment in life? “The proudest moment in my life might be the fact that I’m 19 years old, moved out of my parents house, paying my own bills, and I still chose to go back to school after high school without anyone having to really push me to do it.”
As a final note, Kaleigh stated, “It has been an interesting journey, I love having the choice of learning what I want to and not having to be confined by the constraints of early education. I’ve never been someone who learns the way schools teach and having the opportunity to learn the way that works for me is quite wonderful.” Best of luck Kaleigh!
At times, in an online learning environment, it can feel like you are all alone, but across the nation and around the globe, students just like you are also pursuing their Athabasca University (AU) studies! Each week, The Voice Magazine will be bringing you some of these stories. If you would like to be featured next, do not hesitate to get in touch!