Convocation 2020: Farishta Lila, BSc Human Sciences

My husband was diagnosed with a rare illness. He became dependant on blood transfusions and underwent 18 clinical trials during the span of my education with Athabasca. I could no longer attend conventional school because of my caregiving schedule. Athabasca made sure I still got a quality education while being considerate of my time and empathized with me every step of the way.

Another thing is, the AU platform is very advanced and teaches you how the online world works. Since having such great distance education learning experience while doing my masters which is also via distance education I felt like I had such a great advantage and flew through my coursework where other individuals found those online aspects difficult. I also continued to use AU library services I found those to be top notch!

The people at AU who have supported me have done so in various ways.

I’ll begin with Dr. Norman Temple. He changed my perspective on the way I write argumentative essays and literature reviews. When I first submitted an assignment, my writing was without soul. He told me I need to believe in what I’m writing or don’t write about it at all, because it’s not believable to him. He continued to teach me that I don’t need to be on the side of the topic, but I need to have convincing evidence on the topic. He also taught me how to research effectively and how to source references at a high academic standard. It was only through his brutal honesty that I picked up the pieces of my writing skills to perform well. My writing has since been praised in my master’s setting.

Next is Carmen Allen. When travelling to Athabasca University for my labs, Carmen was such a passionate educator. Every time we entrapped a new species for our ecology class, spoke about plant and fungal relationships, or even sieved some dirt, she made it so incredibly exciting. Her passion lives through me now. Whenever I go hiking or into nature Carmen Allen pops into my mind and I’m thinking of her teachings, which were so well taught that I still remember each fun fact!

When Dr. Norman Temple told me my writing was poor and meaningless/non-directional. I was so offended. I thought I had written an excellent piece. I decided I was “going to show him” by conjuring up the strength to ask him for feedback. Best decision I’ve made for my writing! And boy did I show him, he later gave me my first 99% mark of my literature writing career. We have still remained as friends and he’s even written me some heartwarming recommendation letters. I guess he taught me to be humble and take feedback well which is crucial in the professional world. I learned so much, and I’m glad it was from him!

I was able to apply, become accepted to, and complete my masters in epidemiology after graduating AU.

The entire registrar team helped me with scheduling challenges. There have been tears shed over the phone when I missed important dates because of my husband’s illness, and times I thought I lost my degree because of unplanned absences which were met with comforting words and advice from the registrar team.

I met Nancy Turrant who was an administrator with the university, and now a lifelong friend!