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By Suzanne Smith
O'Leary
Karin (Renee) O’Leary, a 54-year-old third-generation Californian from San Francisco, has overcome many obstacles during her lifetime, most recently securing top marks as an honours undergraduate while at the same time undergoing intensive therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder.
“After experiencing several traumas while serving in the US Army during the late 1970s, I was finally diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2002 after a routine unemployment screening. A few months after starting treatment I moved to Canada because, as a long-time activist, I found that the changes in the US post-9/11 were simply too overwhelming,” explains O’Leary.
O’Leary was first drawn to UVic because of the Humanities Diploma Program which she found was a perfect fit. “It was a great way for someone like myself to get back into school as a mature student,” says O’Leary. “I didn’t expect anything academically from myself at first, but after I received As in my first two classes the fever hit and I started trying for As.”
After receiving her diploma in humanities, O’Leary transferred into the sociology honours undergraduate program. A self-professed “keener,” O’Leary recommends that students keep their education broad. Her course selection, which included everything from French to writing to theatre, spanned four faculties and 12 departments.
O’Leary credits several UVic faculty members for inspiring and supporting her through her academic journey, including sociology professor Peyman Vahabzadeh, philosophy professor Jan Zwicky and English professor Monika Smith.
“Peyman Vahabzadeh encouraged me to be true to my own scholarship by doing extra readings and really engaging with the material,” explains O’Leary. “Thanks to UVic’s work study program, I got the opportunity to work as Dr. Vahabzadeh’s research assistant for two years and learned a lot.”
When asked how she feels about her upcoming graduation ceremony, O’Leary says, “when I walk across that floor all anyone else will see is someone who is changing careers and they won’t know that I’m putting myself together for the first time.”
O’Leary wrote her honours paper on the stigmatization of Canadian cigarette smokers and is currently a non-degree graduate student in UVic’s Cultural, Social and Political Thought Program. When she secures funding she will enrol as a degree student and after obtaining a graduate degree she plans to work in tobacco control research, most likely for the government. She also plans to become a Canadian citizen, “just as fast as I can.”
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