Every semester I ask myself the same three questions and the longer I have been pursuing post secondary the more I think about the costs of post-secondary in comparison to the benefits of my degree. I work part time at Bed Bath and Beyond to help my parents pay rent and keep food on the table so every time I look at class registration I always artistically stack my classes like Greek columns to grab as many hours as I can at work. My father always says that you can’t do anything without money and it’s the truth you can’t, and it shames me because the academic route I decided to take isn’t known for the Steve Jobs of the world but rather the eco-terrorists and political upstarts. Public policy has always been my passion because of the social
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As the plan goes, two years at Douglas, two years at UBC one year at BCIT and I would have just enough education to be considered for a Masters of Public Policy degree. In my first year at Douglas college I went on a field school to the Philippines for international business. It wasn’t my designated field but it is essential for political scientists to have a firm grasp of economics. In today’s age, only those with a global knowledge of their associated field succeed. As the saying goes, “follow the money” and it’s easy to find who influences politics. Even though I have been working part time since Grade 11, I was only able to afford the field school through scholarships and bursaries provided by the college. The generous support of Douglas College wasn’t the only driving reason for going on the Philippines Field School. It was through the field school that I developed a narrative of who I was trying to help and not just from an ethnic connection but through first hand accounts. One of the assignments for International Business Strategies was to talk to Manila Street kids and determine who they work for and what they would rather be doing instead of selling flowers and jewelry on the side of the road. It turned out that these kids lived in the adjacent islands and had to take a boat to sell their wares in order to support their family. The youngest of the …show more content…
In my first semester, it felt like 60-hour work weeks from 30 hours at my part time job to 14 hours a week of in class work to 16 hours of self study and then finally conventions, clubs and volunteering to give back to the community that has done so much for me. I would have taken out a student loan to pay for college but because of my part time work to assist my parents with our living situation I wasn’t able to justify the student loan. My parents work very hard for what we have and it is harder and harder to support ourselves with the high rental prices in metro Vancouver let alone the rising cost of tuition. While I was sitting in a politics and ethics class my professor divulged whether it was acceptable for governments to disallow students from declaring bankruptcy on student loans and through the conversation we learned that he paid $2014.95 a year at university accounting for inflation when he was pursuing his bachelors. In comparison to my professor I pay close to that amount every semester; that includes tuition, student fees, books, U-pass. What these numbers don’t consider is the cost of living within Vancouver. In a time when society needed professionals the government was highly favouring investments into education. Although there is empirical evidence of the workforce demanding
As the plan goes, two years at Douglas, two years at UBC one year at BCIT and I would have just enough education to be considered for a Masters of Public Policy degree. In my first year at Douglas college I went on a field school to the Philippines for international business. It wasn’t my designated field but it is essential for political scientists to have a firm grasp of economics. In today’s age, only those with a global knowledge of their associated field succeed. As the saying goes, “follow the money” and it’s easy to find who influences politics. Even though I have been working part time since Grade 11, I was only able to afford the field school through scholarships and bursaries provided by the college. The generous support of Douglas College wasn’t the only driving reason for going on the Philippines Field School. It was through the field school that I developed a narrative of who I was trying to help and not just from an ethnic connection but through first hand accounts. One of the assignments for International Business Strategies was to talk to Manila Street kids and determine who they work for and what they would rather be doing instead of selling flowers and jewelry on the side of the road. It turned out that these kids lived in the adjacent islands and had to take a boat to sell their wares in order to support their family. The youngest of the …show more content…
In my first semester, it felt like 60-hour work weeks from 30 hours at my part time job to 14 hours a week of in class work to 16 hours of self study and then finally conventions, clubs and volunteering to give back to the community that has done so much for me. I would have taken out a student loan to pay for college but because of my part time work to assist my parents with our living situation I wasn’t able to justify the student loan. My parents work very hard for what we have and it is harder and harder to support ourselves with the high rental prices in metro Vancouver let alone the rising cost of tuition. While I was sitting in a politics and ethics class my professor divulged whether it was acceptable for governments to disallow students from declaring bankruptcy on student loans and through the conversation we learned that he paid $2014.95 a year at university accounting for inflation when he was pursuing his bachelors. In comparison to my professor I pay close to that amount every semester; that includes tuition, student fees, books, U-pass. What these numbers don’t consider is the cost of living within Vancouver. In a time when society needed professionals the government was highly favouring investments into education. Although there is empirical evidence of the workforce demanding