51社区黑料

Virginia Uhi is the first graduate of the course-based MA program at the Department of Linguistics. For Virginia, choosing this stream was about flexibility. Virginia felt that her need for a healthy work鈥搇ife balance was better served by the sprint oriented nature of coursework rather than the marathon endeavour of an MA thesis or MA project. Virginia also appreciated the variety of topics to be explored in the course-based MA stream. She is now pursuing a career at 51社区黑料as part of the Advancement and Alumni Engagement team. 

What first sparked your interest in the field of linguistics?  

English Literature and History were my high school electives. They laid a strong foundation for my interest in humanities, or to be specific, my appreciation for language, human narratives and culture across the world. 

As I proceeded to my bachelor鈥檚 degree at the City University of Hong Kong (), I decided to challenge myself by majoring in Linguistics, the scientific student of language. One of my most memorable undergraduate courses taught us how to compile a digital dictionary and implement various types of queries, which was great exposure to the idea of transforming words and symbols into numbers. It was a new way of understanding language for me. 

Knowing that new technologies would continue to expand and to shape the future, I also pursued a minor in Media Communications to connect my knowledge of Linguistics to related fields. I found that many communications courses touched on topics like pragmatics and semantics, which are core areas in Linguistics. This may indicate that linguists have an edge in the Communications industry, if one is passionate about exploring digital spaces. 

Tell us about why you chose the course-based MA program in Linguistics. What advantages and challenges come with this format?

I appreciated the flexibility of the course-based MA program. I鈥檇 had a research topic in mind, but wasn鈥檛 sure if I wanted to spend the next two or more years working on that topic. I ended up choosing to take a variety of different courses, because they are all so interesting! There are so many new things to learn in Linguistics. 

Other than the academic content, I liked the flexibility in my schedule. Compared to the project MA stream and thesis MA stream, my experience as a course-based student seemed more manageable. As a course-based MA student, my tasks came to completion at a steady, regular pace rather than building lengthily over years to a singular completion. For me, this format was more fulfilling. 

I found that the steady pace allowed me to allocate time across different experiences. I worked, I volunteered, and I pursued side projects of my own in the creative space. Without the flexibility offered by the course-based stream, I wouldn't have been able to achieve so much. 

Congratulations on completing the program! Please share about your current career at 51社区黑料and your future aspirations. 

My current role as the Campaign Assistant with the team is part of 51社区黑料Advancement. We facilitate relationship building with the greater 51社区黑料community and fundraise for different university initiatives. Within this team, I work closely with the Student Engagement Centre, which includes over 40 current students who connect with alumni through thoughtful conversations. While fundraising is one aspect of these conversations, our primary goal is to foster positive dialogue and strengthen alumni ties. 

I oversee the Centre鈥檚 administrative operations, such as scheduling shifts, managing payroll, handling the full hiring cycle, onboarding and offboarding students, and ensuring our communications software and hardware run smoothly each night. I also lead the training and coaching process to ensure our is confident, well-prepared, and aligned with our standards. Since we鈥檙e often the first point of contact representing SFU, it鈥檚 important that we leave a strong and positive impression.

A key part of my role involves pulling and organizing reports for leadership and helping strategize outreach segments. We regularly assess whether we鈥檙e reaching enough alumni and identify opportunities to connect around community events. These insights contribute to ongoing discussions about how we can better engage with the greater 51社区黑料community.

My position allows me to work with students while also gaining insight into the university鈥檚 inner workings. As someone who aims to pursue further career goals in student services, this role working closely with students has helped me to understand their point of view in navigating the complexity of university life.