Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to page-level navigation Go to the Disability Resource Centre Website Go to the DRC Booking Accommodation Portal Go to the Inclusive Technology Lab Website
The University of British Columbia
UBC - A Place of Mind
The University of British Columbia Okanagan campus
UBC Okanagan News
  • Research
  • People
    • Student Profile
    • Faculty Profile
    • Alumni Spotlight
  • Campus Life
    • Campus News
    • Student Life
    • Teaching & Learning
  • Community Engagement
  • About the Collection
    • Stories for Media
  • UBCO Events
  • Search All Stories
Home / 2016 / September / 06 / Finding opportunities in academics and extracurricular activities
People, Student Profile

Finding opportunities in academics and extracurricular activities

Undergrad Blake Edwards created his own unique educational experience with a double major in History and Political Science

September 6, 2016

About

Name
Blake Edwards

Role
Undergraduate student

Program
History and Political Science

Faculty
Irving K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences

Campus
Okanagan (Kelowna, BC)

Hometown
Castlegar, BC

“The opportunities to get involved have been limitless. I’ve really been able to grow a lot.”

WHEN BLAKE EDWARDS FIRST CAME TO UBC OKANAGAN, he was fully set on becoming a cardiologist. After just one year of study, however, he realized that his true interests lie in the arts, not the sciences. That’s when he discovered History and Political Science.

Why History?

“I decided to do a double major because I found that History laid the foundation and fostered what I was learning in Political Science,” he says. “They are so interconnected and complementary to each other, that I knew I couldn’t do one without the other.”

As Edwards moved through his undergraduate degree, he found opportunities both in academics and extracurricular activities that allowed him to design his own unique educational experience. Add to that his new role of President of the UBC Students’ Union Okanagan (UBCSUO), after winning the 2016 students’ election.

IMMERSIVE EDUCATION

Through his honours thesis, Edwards is exploring the history of the environmental movement in the Okanagan Valley; and through a directed studies project, he is examining the Canadian Environmental Policy degradation in a free-trade context.

Edwards also immersed himself in campus life, working with student recruitment and new student orientation events, organizing student leadership conferences, and participating in student clubs such as the Political Science Student Association, the Model United Nations, and the Student Senate Caucus.

“The opportunities to get involved have really been limitless. From academic opportunities of pursuing research to growing as a leader through clubs and course unions, to developing professionalism through campus employment, I’ve really been able to grow a lot.”

A TASTE OF EXPERIENCE

For Edwards, the time invested out of the classroom is important, but engaging professors have also made the difference to the level of his learning in the classroom.

“My favourite history course was, hands down, the History of Mexico with Associate Professor Jessica Stites Mor,” says Edwards. “She taught the course as a cultural history class where we learned about the political, economic, and historical side of the country.

“In addition to teaching, Professor Stites Mor also included experiential learning through class creation of a Day of the Dead altar and tasting authentic Mexican cuisine at a local restaurant,” which aligned with one of the readings, ¡Que Vivan Los Tamales! Food and the Making of Mexican Identity.

MORE THAN A NUMBER

“I’ve been fortunate to intertwine my interest in the environment with academics,” says Edwards.

“This year, as a residence advisor, I helped start up the Sustainable Leadership Community, and through the Summer Scholars Program last year, I was able to help lead 33 students from 16 different high schools through an on-campus environmental science course.”

Edwards says the level of interaction with his professors, and the opportunities to get involved on campus have allowed him to create his own unique educational experience.

“At UBCO, I get to be more than a number.”

—by Deanna Roberts

Content type: Profile
More content from: Economics, Philosophy and Political Science, History and Sociology, Irving K Barber School of Arts and Sciences (prior July 2020)

Trending Stories

  • Opening doors for international student research
  • Cutting breakfast carbs can benefit people with Type 2 ...
  • Call for Canada to braid Indigenous rights with endangered ...
  • A student’s poor eating habits can lead to a ...
  • UBCO celebrates the graduates of 2023
All Stories
UBCO Events

About UBC Okanagan

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose traditional, ancestral and unceded territory the campus resides. The most established and influential global rankings all consistently place UBC in the top five per cent of universities in the world, and among the top three Canadian universities.

The Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

Discover more about UBC Okanagan

Find a Program Admissions Book a Tour UBCO Facts
UBC Okanagan Campus News, University Relations

Innovation Precinct Annexation 1 (IA1)
3505 Spectrum Court
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 2Z1

We respectfully acknowledge the Syilx Okanagan Nation and their peoples, in whose traditional, ancestral, unceded territory UBC Okanagan is situated.

 

Search all stories

Subscribe to receive news by email

Visit UBC's Vancouver news room

Global and Admin Messages

News

Okanagan Campus

TikTok icon Linkedin icon

UBC Okanagan News
Okanagan Campus
3333 University Way
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 1V7
Find us on
  
Back to top
The University of British Columbia
  • Emergency Procedures |
  • Terms of Use |
  • Copyright |
  • Accessibility