History and Education

10 years labour force experience before entering higher education.

I worked in the paid labour force for 10 years prior to returning to school to pursue social work. I worked in dog daycare, as a preschool teacher, and in banking for more years than I cared for. I had the opportunity to take on many challenges, and I witnessed social issues before I knew their academically codified names. Most importantly, I had the opportunity to meet hundreds of ordinarily remarkable people. I would not be the therapist I am today without my work experience.

Master of Social Work from Wilfrid Laurier University

Despite being a hard worker, I can honestly say I have never worked as hard on anything as I did on my graduate degree. My program was challenging in ways I feel lucky to have been exposed to, because the MSW program through Laurier is neither generalist nor clinical but is instead integrated. I learned in-depth about the social world and it's barriers, along with clinical skills and a clinical practicum. I built my therapeutic skills in practice through my placement at the Calgary Narrative Collective, and work daily to continuously hone my craft.

Bachelor of Social Work from University of Calgary.

I returned to school for social work in my adulthood, and with a clear idea of the type of work I aspired to do. From my first course, I thoughtfully chose topics that could teach me about a wide variety of people, the circumstances that influence our collective living, and ways we can improve our society. I fell in love with research, and had the opportunity to publish a study in a peer reviewed social work journal:

Leveque, E., Samarron, H., & Shaw, J. (2020). Not Into Sex: Women’s Experiences of Treatment-Emergent Sexual Dysfunction. Affilia, 35(3), 413–433. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886109919878275