Like
Between classes: Dave Guedes
Associate of Arts, Psychology
David Guedes
will have a pepperoni with extra cheese.
Education:
Associate of Arts, Psychology, 2009
Bachelor of Arts, Psychology (Douglas/UFV joint degree), 2011
Currently:
World-famous writing tutor at the Douglas College Learning Centre, New Westminster Campus
Career goals:
Psychotherapist or medical doctor, maybe teaching at the college level on the side
Personal goals:
Travel the world. Have a long dirt driveway flanked by Lombardy Poplars. Own my own hot tub.
Hometown:
Maple Ridge
High school:
Archbishop Carney Regional Secondary School, Port Coquitlam
I detect a pattern here
This Summer I will be avoiding a full-time job by taking Summer classes, but in another five years I will probably be heavily in student loan debt, still avoiding a full-time job by taking Summer classes.
Crazy kids
I really underachieved as a teenager. Like most, I was kind of rebellious and tried to graduate high school at the bottom of my class to prove a point. Being a teenager is really a special time in life: you can have a lot of fun – you can get away with a lot and have little responsibility. If I could go back in time, I would tell my 17-year-old self to underachieve more than I actually did and to make the best of some of the best years of your life, 'cause as you get older, you have to start caring about things.
Time to set some goals
In August 2006, I was wandering the forest outside of Val-d'Or, Quebec and I realized that after traveling around Canada and Western Europe for the better part of 15 months without a permanent job, it was time that I get some sort of qualification so that I could continue to travel in the future and have a job to come home to. I really had no idea of where to start.
Friendly familial competition
My mom was valedictorian of the Douglas Health Sciences grad in June, 2006. She was in the Health Information Services Program (now called Health Information Management). It's a pretty good feeling to be walking in her footsteps, but not for the reasons you might assume. Since I started at Douglas, she's been pretty interested in my grades and how I'm doing. It became a competition. I had straight As for two full years, won over $7,000 in scholarships and awards, but she still trumped everything with her valedictorian card. I think that now I can safely say, "Mom, I win."
Craziest in-class moment?
I really think you should ask my classmates for this one. I seem to keep people sitting around me quite entertained. Of the hijinks I can recall, I would have to say having pizza delivered to me in class was pretty crazy.
Inspiring teachers
It’s hard to pick one favourite, but the honour must go to the first instructor I had at Douglas, Jillian Hull. As far as I’ve come in the last two years, I still feel I owe a lot to her and what I learned in her class. She taught me how to be a college student and she was the one who referred me to both the Student Ambassador Program and the Learning Centre, the two entities I’ve identified most with in my time at Douglas.
Advice for today’s grads
Get involved. I am not the valedictorian because I'm the smartest student or hardest worker. I'm in this position because I decided to get involved at school: tutoring, leading tours, sitting on councils, boards, and committees and getting dressed up as Roary to assault the odd Vice President of Educational Services. There is so much more to college than classes. Wherever you go after Douglas, make the most of your time by joining clubs, volunteering, and helping others. Your experience can be that much better because of what you do.
