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By Angela Voht
For Leigh Pharis, inspiring students toward a passion for social justice and caring for the environment is high on her list of teaching aims.
After two years of general studies concentrated in the natural and social sciences, Pharis found she wanted to share her passion for learning, and transferred to UVic’s education faculty.
“I enjoyed the education courses because they were really on the cutting edge of where the teaching field is headed. Now that I’m working, I see that the education provided through UVic is what the school districts want in their teachers.”
As this year’s winner of the Maxwell Cameron Medal in elementary education, Pharis wishes to inspire her students to care for their world, for themselves, and for others. “If I can do that, then I have met my goal as an educator,” says Pharis.
Currently working on call within the Mission School District, she is finding the variety and challenge of the work and the opportunity to connect with staff and students at many schools stimulating and rewarding.
Pharis is known as someone with an array of creative and dynamic teaching methods and an engaging toolkit of resources. She spent time outside the classroom helping with a local science fair, coaching basketball and teaching guitar over lunch.
Beyond her practica, she volunteered as a homework tutor for the Students for Literacy program run through UVic and visited elementary schools as a LifeCycles volunteer to help plant gardens with the students and promote sustainable living.
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