The Ring
June 2005 · Vol 31 · No 6
Top education grad hopes to open own school
Maxwell Cameron Medal
Nishat (Nish) Thaver, the top student in the faculty of education at the elementary school level, dreams of one day opening her own school.
"I was born in Nairobi," she says. "I really want to open a school there or somewhere in the developing world for all children to attend, whether or not they have money."
Thaver, who moved to Canada when she was two years-old, has wanted to be a teacher since she was in Grade 2. "I really connect with the young kids, especially in Grades 3 and 4 when they’re not really primary but not intermediate, either," she says. "Their innocence and humour keeps you grounded. It’s their willingness to learn, to take challenges and work with you that drives me."
Thaver says working hard was crucial for her dreams for the future. "It was really important that I got a good foundation in teaching if I want to one day open a school of my own," she says. "The 16-month, post-degree professional program was pretty gruelling, but it was useful to me and I had good friends and family along the way who supported me a lot."
Now that she’s no longer "swamped with school," Thaver has been doing some tutoring while she waits to get on a teacher-on-call list. "I’m also involved with the Ismaili community here in Vancouver," she says. "I do volunteer teaching for religious classes on Saturday morning."
Thaver has had many inspirational teachers over the years, including her math teacher from Grades 8 to 10. "We had very inspirational teachers at UVic, too, whom I will never forget and who inspired us to be the best teachers that we can be."