Program while at Windsor: Philosophy and Political Science
Graduating Year: 2015 (B.A.); 2017 (M.A.)
Current Life Project: "Project Risk Management in Public-Private Partnerships: A Risk Allocation Decision Model based on Psychometrics"
Q: How has philosophy helped you in your everyday life?
A: Philosophy, especially postmodernism, allowed me to control my emotions and channel my rationality. This allowed me to both set my goals and achieve them. I don't want this answer to get psychological, but I feel as if many postmodern philosophers advocate -- explicitly or implicitly -- sociopath-esque traits in a sense that they put a premium on realizing the control you have over influencing power dynamics that affect your everyday life (e.g. demarcating emotional responses from rational responses to situations to ultimately yi yourself).
Q: How has philosophy helped you in your career?
A: Much of my "career" so far as an academic, and likely an eventual legal practitioner, has involved performing under pressure. This may entail both crucial oral presentations, like my thesis defence, or crucial windows filled with due dates and timelines. Again, I can't express enough how philosophy helped me suppress thoughts denoted with stress and will myself to do what was required -- akin to that of Nietzsche's Ubermensche, for example.
Q:What about the University of Windsor Philosophy Department stood out to you the most?
A: Our student-to-professor ratio was refreshingly small and our professors often fit in the middle of a Venn diagram where "capable" and "unpretentious" meet. I put a premium on this intersection, as it is not always found with academics. Were you an active part of the community here? If so, how, and why was this valuable? I was involved heavily in the University of Windsor's Mentoring and Learning Program as both a mentor (enrolled in the class) and senior mentor (GA for the class). I also volunteered at the University of Windsor's Peer Support Centre from my second year of undergrad up until the last of my two years as a graduate student. In a nutshell, both roles allowed me to reach out and help others in a judgement-free environment. This was both refreshing and rewarding as a mentor and mental health counsellor.
Q: Are there any lessons you learned in retrospect?
A: From philosophy? I really began to understand the idiom "the more you know, the less you understand..." I've learned that I am inherently an empiricist and my curiosity for learning has increased wit age. I wish I felt this way in high school during math classes...
Q: Why would you recommend studying philosophy at the University of Windsor?
A: 100%. Firstly, we have internationally renowned professors. Dr. Tindale is both a class act and a charismatic character that no student interested in logic should skip out on experiencing first hand. Dr. MacPherson and Professor Parr are perhaps the kindest most empathetic teachers I have ever come into contact with in my 24 years of life. Dr. Cook has a resume that could bring her to any University in Canada. We have an exceptional faculty and an exceptional program .