Sanya Malik is a 3rd-year International Relations Major and Economics Minor at the University of British Columbia. In September 2022, she joined the administrative team in the Department of Central, Eastern and Northern European Studies (CENES) as a Project Worker.
CENES Head’s Assistant Elizabeth Nolan spoke with Sanya about being a Work Learn in CENES, balancing work and studies, and more.
Coming from International Relations, what were your first impressions of the CENES Department?
When I entered my major this year, I expected a diverse range of options and ideas to explore in and beyond the field itself, and it did not disappoint! CENES is one of the components of the diverse options that my program offers, and I have plans to take courses in the department such as CENS 303 Representations of the Holocaust. My first impressions of the CENES Department were indeed very similar to my first impressions of my major this year. I got to know about areas of study that I did not even know existed at UBC. I have also had the opportunity to attend CENES events that have broadened my knowledge of arenas such as Nordic Studies. It has been a very extravagant experience to be a part of CENES. It is a much bigger department than it looks.
How do you feel your work here at CENES will inform your future studies?
International Relations is about being able to learn about different parts of the world and especially multiple cultures that inform bigger ideas and decisions. My aim throughout my work term is to learn more about Central, Eastern and Northern European culture through participating in talks, events, research and community. So far, I have been able to make some great progress!
Has any part of your position as a Project Worker surprised you so far?
I did not expect the amount of diversity in learning opportunities that I have gotten at CENES so far. I have had a chance to explore very different things, from helping with course planning graphics to researching disability and language learning, which was a pleasant surprise for me when I first joined the department.
What part of being both a Project Worker in CENES and a full-time student do you find most challenging?
A majority of my work term so far has been research. Even though I am very fond of research, it has been challenging to keep up with research for multiple papers for my courses and research that I do for my Work Learn position, albeit for very different subjects. It is hard to separate course load and work in this case, sometimes.
You recently won a UBC Faculty of Arts award, can you tell us more?
I applied for the Faculty of Arts International Student Scholarship earlier last term and am very grateful to have been awarded $6,000. The award recognizes international Arts students who “demonstrate strong academic achievement, engagement in the Faculty, and the potential to make a scholarly contribution within their chosen field of study.” I strongly attribute this achievement to my position at CENES and the research that I have been able to contribute to so far under CENES Department Head Dr. David Gramling.
