Looking through her portfolio of certificates earned over the past six years, Pat Haram shares that these papers represent one of the major highlights of her life.
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| Pat Haram displays one of her paintings outside the Downtown Eastside Women's Centre. |
When asked to describe the learning initiatives she has been involved with since moving back to Vancouver, Pat emphasizes that she first had to deal with her housing and health issues, otherwise she couldn’t have done any of the learning she has done. Following this, seeing her daughter receive a degree from SFU was a huge motivator for her. And then in 2006 Pat became involved at the Downtown Eastside Women’s Centre (DEWC) where she was pointed towards the Humanities 101 Programme (or Hum 101, for short). Hum 101 offers three non-credit university-level courses at UBC for people living in the DTES and surrounding areas who have a passion for knowledge and education, especially those whose economic situation, academic experience, financial and social well-being are compromised. “This is something good for you”, Pat remembers a DEWC advocate advising her.
Ever since then, Pat’s learning trajectory has been steady. After Hum 101, Pat went on to complete the Writing course (both as a student and later as a mentor), and then Hum 201. When the opportunity arose for graduates from Hum 101 to take a credit course at UBC, Pat chose to take a class in First Nations Languages Studies. Pat’s involvement in Hum 101 also connected her to Science 101, which she enrolled in and completed despite her fears about the science-based course content.
While enrolled in Hum 101, DEWC also recognized Pat’s talent in painting and encouraged her to connect with EWMA (Enterprising Women Making Art). In 2007, EWMA encouraged Pat to submit her painting of a trout to the ‘Painting on Edge’ exhibit held on Granville Island. The piece entitled Pacific Harmony was accepted and later became the first piece of artwork that Pat ever sold. As exciting as this was, Pat’s true reward comes from people seeing what she is trying to communicate in her artwork.
And somewhere in all this activity, Pat followed up on the recommendation by a fellow tenant and became involved at the UBC Learning Exchange in their ESL Conversation Program. Pat completed their facilitator training program and volunteered for several terms as a conversation facilitator. She later sat on the ESL Curriculum Development Committee which planned and created two ESL conversation lesson books at the beginner and intermediate level. From the Learning Exchange, Pat says she learned how much energy it takes to be a teacher or a facilitator. She also came to recognize that she was a kinaesthetic learner.
As to what she feels she has shared with others during her past six years of learning, Pat reflects that she has shared her art, communication style, versatility, and some of her life experiences. “In return, I have gained so much in the way of knowledge. It has been a blessing.”
In the past year, Pat feels that she has come to a place of balance in her life. She plans to continue working as a volunteer at DEWC and to contribute her artwork at artistic venues. She also hopes to continue taking First Nations Languages credit courses at UBC. Pat concludes with an accepting smile, “This is all I can handle right now. I know my limits and I try to work with that.”
