Jennifer began her career at VIU in 1997 as a Worksite Trainer. She is one of the original Faculty members in the WEST program. Jennifer has over 30 years of experience working with people with a variety of disabilities. Over her tenure with the program, Jennifer has been instrumental in establishing long-standing community partners from Cedar, to Nanaimo, to Qualicum. She is passionate about the students she works with, and she works tirelessly at recruiting new mentors and community partners so that she can provide relevant, objective learning experiences to all the students she trains.
Quote
“We need to give each other the space to grow, to be ourselves, to exercise our diversity. We need to give each other space so that we may both give and receive such beautiful things as ideas, openness, dignity, joy, healing and inclusion.”
Max de Pree
“To keep the body in good health is a duty, otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.”
Buddha
Areas of Expertise
Another great passion of Jennifer’s is in health and wellness, and she believes that with a healthy body, comes a healthy mind. She has trained in Qigong and Tai Chi and has a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. She was instrumental in including a health and wellness component in the curriculum of the current WEST Program. In fact, she intentionally got her certification in fitness so she could offer fitness classes to her students. Jennifer volunteers her time and skills to the Nanaimo community teaching Meditation and skills to lower anxiety and stress. She offers meditation classes at Literacy Nanaimo. She has volunteered as a Lay Counselor at Nanaimo Family Life for 9 years and as a board member and president of the Multicultural Society for many years. She also tutors ESL students to help them develop written and oral communication skills.
Project Showcase
2016 – One of four faculty members to develop and create the WEST Program (program design and curriculum content).
2015 – Solidified community partners and obtained community mentors for the Entrepreneur Program targeted to students with disabilities.
2014 – Pioneered and established two training sites at VIU Nanaimo Campus: The WEST Café / WEST Coffee service and The WEST Farmers Market. These training sites are in full operation today.
