Rose Cameron

About

"In the GRS program, I was given the freedom to explore my interests but also pushed to seek opportunities that enriched my learning. I had more motivation to pursue projects that inspired me because I felt my degree was my own."

Why did you choose the resource/region specializations that you did?

Following my first year of university in the Faculty of Arts, I started the GRS program thinking I wanted to learn everything about growing food. Over time my focus shifted towards human health and wellbeing, however, I’ve held on to my interest in agriculture and feel that both food and health are deeply interlinked, each playing an integral role in how we live our everyday lives. I chose to focus my studies on health because it allows me to think about the role food plays in our wellbeing, and to use what I learned working on small-scale farms to support the physical and mental health of the people who feed us every day.

My regional specialization was Europe. Originally, I made this choice because the courses offered at the University of Copenhagen interested me and were not available at UBC at the time. However, spending a year in Europe gave me a closer view of the refugee crisis occurring across the continent, and provided me with a unique opportunity to deepen my understanding of how migration and global factors impact the health and wellbeing of individuals.

What does your position involve?

I’m a first-year medical student in UBC’s Island Medical Program, located in Victoria, BC.

How did the GRS program prepare you for this role?

The GRS program taught me how to be an independent thinker and learner. Without the rigidity and formulaic nature of many undergraduate programs, I developed the ability to problem solve beyond textbook examples and critically think about complex issues – skills that are both crucial to a career in medicine.