Leanne Svendsen - Certified teacher. Well done.

Leanne graduated from UFV with a B.Ed. and starts teaching in the fall.

It's funny how our lives twist and turn.  We start out on a path, being certain of what we will do, and events unfurl as a canvas dropping from the ceiling, revealing a path no one expected.  It was that way with me, and it seems Leanne is experiencing the same thing in much the same way.

After high school, Leanne had one plan.  She wanted to serve God and received a scholarship to attend a post-secondary institution.  She did a year there and then transferred to a program at CBC (Columbia Bible College) where she graduated with a Bachelor's in Counselling and Human Resources.  It was her desire to serve her Lord and be involved in the lives of people.  She loved working with and helping others.

After earning her first degree, she began working in the community following that passion.  But the jobs she got did not fulfill her as she imagined.  As the years passed, the need to reconsider what the future held grew.  She had worked with children during her adolescence, doing summer camps and in church in various capacities.  She also spent a year in the Netherlands as an au pair (live-in nanny) and there discovered her capacity for learning languages.  The seeds of the future were planted.

It seemed that it was time to reconsider her future.  Maybe teaching was just the thing, but her existing degree had no application in education, which meant going back to school.  Why not in French?  The new language, new career path, and future prospects were all good.  And so she was accepted at UFV (University of the Fraser Valley) for a B.Ed. and would focus on French.

It was not easy for her.  Her foundation in the language was thin.  Many of her classmates had done French immersion in secondary school and were already fluent in the language.  But Leanne has determination, excellent study habits, a great work ethic, and a gift for languages.  There would be plenty of tears and difficult moments.  But she could do it.

And so, on June 10, 2025, we were proud to attend the commencement ceremony where she received her education degree.  She has also accepted a position teaching French at a Christian middle school in the fall.  Now, back on track, she has new goals with the same passions.  Serve God.  Help people.  We are very proud of her.  Well done, Leanne.  Well done.

Thanks for reading.

Eric Svendsen     www.ericspix.com
 

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