Okanagan College Media Release

Kristin Burns will be one of 43 Okanagan College students graduating this weekend with an Associate Degree of Arts, the largest number of graduates to have the associate degree conferred in Okanagan College’s four-decade history.

Burns is an example of the growing awareness of the value of the associate degree, a credential that is offered at colleges across the province.

“We are seeing a shift in the number of students acquiring Associate Degree of Arts credentials and I think that is because people are beginning to be aware of the power of the associate degree,” explained Stan Chung, Associate Dean of Arts and Foundational programs.

“Arts students typically choose Okanagan College because of the size of the classes and the personal attention they receive from professors but now more and more students are also interested in having their college experience amount to a recognized credential.”

Associate degrees are unique in that they provide students with what is known as block transfer to university. Students receive full transfer credit for all 60 credits of their associate degree once they are accepted at a university.

For Burns, Saturday’s Convocation will mark the first step of what she hopes will be a long educational journey. She has been accepted for the fall semester at UBC-Okanagan and plans on earning a Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and English.

“My ultimate goal is to earn a doctorate and teach at the college or university level,” said Burns. “I had some incredible teachers at Okanagan College who really inspired me. John Lent was amazing and helped propel me toward creative writing.”

Mira Culen had a similar experience to Burns – she came to Okanagan College from Nelson and knew she wanted to study Arts but wanted to be able to take a variety of courses.  The Associate Degree of Arts program enabled her to get a taste of several disciplines before ultimately settling on English as her emphasis.

“I always knew I wanted to go into teaching but that was confirmed for me at the College,” said Culen. “My professors were amazing. Mary Ellen Holland inspired me to take my English further, Alix Hawley offered so much to each of my classes and Wilma van der Veen opened my eyes to the world and made me want to make a difference.”

Now home in Nelson for the summer, Culen plans on taking a year off before pursuing a Bachelor degree at either the University of Victoria or Simon Fraser University.