Hello, my name is Jonah Hector, and I was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. I spent my childhood years attending public school in Calgary until 2013, when a flood wiped out our house. This led to us moving to Shuswap Lake temporarily as our home in Calgary was repaired. However, the temporary move ended up becoming permanent as we enjoyed living in Interior BC. I spent my high school years in Salmon Arm, BC. I fell in love with the active lifestyle and the outdoor sports BC offers. I am an avid mountain biker, skier, and golfer. I have always enjoyed working with kids and being active; my first job was as a swim instructor and summer day camp attendant in Sicamous, BC. This eventually led to work as a lifeguard in Salmon Arm and now currently in Kamloops. This work has been what has affirmed my interest in a career in education. I have completed seven years of working with kids and adults, teaching them how to swim. Now I am teaching adults how to be better instructors and lifeguards as a pool deck leader. I did my undergraduate studies at TRU, where I earned a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in economics and political science with a minor in sociology. Furthermore, the prospect of becoming a school teacher and influencing pupil’s lives in a positive manner, as many teachers have done for me, makes me excited to pursue this career. Thus, I decided in my third year of my undergraduate degree to focus on getting into the Bachelor of Education program. I feel very accomplished and proud of myself for following my intuition and getting accepted into the education program. Upon completion of the Bachelor of Education program, I am excited to bring my expertise to a school district and share my passion for teaching and learning with the world. I have a fascination with place-based and outdoor learning as I have learned from the land extensively in my own life. I also believe that experiential learning is imperative to ensuring that the education students get will be applicable to their everyday lives. I hope to extend my passion for outdoor learning into extracurriculars, as I would really enjoy facilitating and coaching any sort of outdoor activities. I also have a fascination with local politics and community building, as I went through a pivotal experience in high school in a local politics course. This experience has made me a lifelong learner and advocate for getting students involved in local politics and aware of the value of community building. I also continue to be a lifelong learner in my career as I have to recertify often and actively hold certifications in First Aid & CPR/C, National Lifeguard Pool, Life Saving Society Swim Instructor, Occupational First Aid 1, Pool Operator 1, and Life Saving Instructor. All of my experiences and interests will help aid me in becoming an inclusive and effective teacher. Furthermore, I am excited to extend my passion for learning to future students.