LEARNING TO TAKE RISKS

A Career In International

DEVELOPMENT

AUTHOR: LINDA LIUTKUS '94

When I was asked if I would be interested in writing a piece for the magazine, as someone who could best be described as a ‘lackluster’ student, I was stumped as to what I could write about. I was of course hoping to be able to share useful lessons or possibly inspire students towards a career in international work. While thinking about this, Paul Farmer, a giant in the development community, died unexpectedly and I thought of a quote of his, “For me, an area of moral clarity is: you're in front of someone who's suffering and you have the tools at your disposal to alleviate that suffering, and you act.” His passing made me think back to when we are younger and deciding on our career paths, when we learn to take risks and how we become comfortable taking chances so that we can act on our goals in life.

Being surrounded by gaggles of young women may not seem like a likely place to learn about risk-taking; however, it turns out that for many, myself included, LFA did just that. Not to discount the role of our families, but as teenage girls can attest, the role our friends and school environment play is paramount to our success… as is a whole lotta work. From my own experience, this learning at LFA, to work hard and feel comfortable taking risks and embracing new challenges (scholastic or not), helped me on the road post-high school. Having the ability to study well into the night before a biology provincial exam, is also a talent that cannot be underestimated!

After graduation, with these skills in hand, I completed a Bachelor of Arts from St. Francis Xavier University, followed by studies in International

Development at St. Mary’s University and the University of Havana, Cuba. Taking chances along the way has led me along an erratic, but exciting, path from the streets of Vancouver, to Africa, Asia, and Latin America, working in the not-for-profit sector as a program manager and technical advisor. This work has allowed me the opportunity to live and travel to countless countries. Experiences such as learning about cooperative movements in the Philippines and Peru, volunteering with women’s organizations in Guatemala and Nepal, doing research about indigenous education in Ecuador, and working with UNICEF on child rights in Tajikistan.

Working in some of the more difficult contexts has its challenges. From managing child-protection projects in Haiti after the earthquake of 2010 with War Child Canada to the war-ravaged Democratic Republic of Congo facilitating teacher training, to supporting legal aid clinics for women and children victims of violence in Uganda. Despite the hard conditions, working on social issues and equity issues has been rewarding, such as being part of teams working on vocation programs for ex-child-soldiers in South Sudan and out-of-school youth in Burkina Faso. Designing projects for refugees in Rwanda and working with local health officials to strengthen maternity hospitals in Senegal and Nigeria. Today, I am working on projects for HIV-affected populations in Liberia and El Salvador and evaluating early childhood education programs in Cambodia, Laos, and Tanzania with

Plan Canada.

Now that I am also a part-time professor at Humber college, some key learnings from LFA are coming in handy. Guiding future practitioners I can draw on years of experiences overseas, but to be honest, when students come in with stories to explain unfinished homework or missed classes, it is priceless to be able to say, ‘Though it has been years, I survived high school using those same excuses!’

Seeing my niece in the maroon uniform for the first time this September, made me reminisce, hoping she gets the same experience. I hope she joins extra-curricular activities such as field hockey and drama. I hope she doesn't know the feeling of doing homework last minute on the 406 bus ride from Richmond. Most of all, I hope she meets an amazing group of friends, with whom she can still laugh decades after graduation, remembering the many hilarious (and stupid) things we got up to. That is probably the best lesson to learn from time spent on Alexandra street.

Linda is currently living in Toronto, working with Plan Interntional. See page 73 for an interview with Linda Liutkus '94 by LFA student, Kennedy Orr '23.

As the Director of Vancouver Coastal’s Emergency Operations Centre for Long-Term Care and Assisted Living for the COVID-19 pandemic, Jo-Ann supported the creation of resources and coordinated responses to the outbreaks. She continues to support the sector through the pandemic to build a resilient culture of prevention, quick response, and excellent care.

Jo-Ann is also an adjunct professor at the UBC School of Nursing and a current parent at LFA.