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The program helped me understand the power of leadership to drive positive change.
The MA in Human Security and Peacebuilding program has been instrumental in helping me pursue both my professional and academic aspirations. First, the blended delivery model allowed me to work full-time while completing my degree and the team-based approach helped me expand my network.
The principles of the program – crafting ground-up solutions, exploring issues by focusing on their root causes, using systems thinking to identify the manifold factors in play and how they can be influenced to create virtuous cycles – are all principles of citizen-centred public service. As a Government Agent with the BC Public Service, I lead a team of service professionals in the delivery of over 700 government services across three communities in northern BC. As the face of the public service, I use those same principles to support a high-performing team to deliver those services and to sustainably resolve issues for the public. BC and Canada is truly one of the greatest places on Earth, and my program helped me clarify both why excellence in public service is needed and how to accomplish it.
The masters program ignited a passion for understanding the power of leadership to drive positive change. The role of ethical, distributed leadership in building healthy workplaces and the improved health of populations is a research idea I hope to explore in Doctoral studies in the near future.
My devotion to leadership in building healthy societies has afforded me the opportunity to work with Indigenous education societies in BC, with patient organizations in Uganda and with health professionals in India. In short, my Masters helped me develop as a leader and afforded me opportunities to pursue further learning and professional development.