The Voice Magazine recently had a chance to chat with Nadia Limani, a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology student currently living in Hartland, New Brunswick. Post-graduation, Nadia hopes to pursue a master’s degree in counselling. She explained, “I would love to be a psychotherapist and work with youth and their families to help people have stronger and healthier relationships with their loved ones.”
On a personal note, Nadia let us know, “I was born in Fredericton, New Brunswick and shortly after I was moved to the town that my mom was raised in – Hartland, NB. I grew up and eventually graduated high school in Hartland, and, upon graduation, I decided to take a gap year to save money and decide on what career path I would like to pursue. After some time, I decided to enroll in the Early Childhood Education program in Woodstock, NB, and I’m glad that I did as I was able to learn so much, and some of what I’ve learned has even helped me in my current PSYC courses.”
She continued, “After graduation, I moved back to Fredericton for a few years and worked in an early learning center for some time. I loved the children I worked with, and I was inspired by their growth and learning so that, upon further reflection, I decided to go back to school to work on getting my Bachelors in Psychology. To help with the costs, I moved back to my hometown with my family and decided to look into my options of online learning. I decided to enroll in Athabasca’s Bachelor in Psychology program. I’ve been loving my studies so far and see myself as a lifelong learner!”
Nadia had some great study tips for fellow AU learners. “One thing that has helped me immensely is that, recently, I’ve started writing down what I would like to achieve that day for each class. I place it on my board where I am able to see it and I love the feeling of accomplishment when I cross off the things I needed to do for that class.”
She also had some great advice for new and/or prospective students. “My advice first to prospective students is to really make sure that you have at least some idea of the career path you would like to pursue. I find having a goal in mind can help in general but especially during those times where you may feel stressed and overburdened with your school work and life in general.” She continued, “To new students, I would say that making a schedule is really important. We all have so many responsibilities and to have a schedule where your courses have a set time in each day helps with consistency.”
When she is not studying, Nadia enjoys “spending time outside, especially during this time of year with all the leaves changing, and seeing the beauty of the world around us.” She continued, “I am a lover of a good road trip, and you can occasionally catch me curling up with a nice book, dabbling in some creative writing, learning languages (currently classical Arabic) or spending time with family and friends. For about a year or so now, I have been spending some of my time helping out for a youth counselling site where I offer helpful peer support comments to the posts that we receive.”
She also mentioned a book that has made an impact on her life. She stated, “One of my more recent reads has impacted me in the way I try to interact with my loved ones. It’s called When Hearing Becomes Listening by Mikaeel Ahmed Smith, it covers many topics related to how to actively listen to others and touches upon the attachment theory and Mary Ainsworth’s experiment with babies and their caregivers. I would strongly recommend this book and his first one – With the Heart in Mind (which speaks of emotional and moral intelligence).”
As for experience with online learning so far? “I really enjoy online learning and when I was in high school, I did take a law course online and I remember enjoying the independence I had with it, which made me want to try Athabasca. My favourite thing about online learning is that I am able to work at my own pace, instead of trying to keep up with the pace of the instructor.”
On a final note, Nadia mentioned, “I’m really excited to see what the future holds and I wish the best for everyone in their academic success!” Best of luck, Nadia!
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!