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First impressions at UBC — Corbett Scholar Theodoric Greenleaf

Headshot of Theodoric Greenleaf

October 4, 2024

The first few days at UBC were spent unpacking, purchasing things I couldn’t pack, and exploring the campus. The day before classes start, UBC holds “Imagine Day,” which helps people explore various topics. For exchange students, it meant being assigned to small groups and getting a tour around campus, as well as getting to attend relevant lectures about topics like the academic culture of UBC, what group sports were available for non-student athletes, and some of the work that UBC is doing with local Indigenous peoples. I also snuck off (with my team leader’s permission, of course) briefly during the middle of the day to attend the biochemistry-relevant lectures.

A white golden retriever lies on a dark blue bed.

My service dog, Bones, naps on my dorm room bed. The poster was bought at a poster sale UBC held in The Nest (like the HUB). Photo credit: Theodoric Greenleaf

The other big part of Imagine Day was the Club Fair. There are so many clubs at UBC that even though the fair lasted around 2 hours, I still didn’t have enough time to see all of them, as by the time I got to the end of the rows, some clubs were already packing up. However, I did get to meet the DUC, which is UBC’s Disabilities United Collective. As someone who is an officer for the UW RSO Ability, which focuses on disability activism, it was exciting to get to talk to them about what they do. I even went to their general meeting two weeks later, and got some ideas to bring back to UW for helping my RSO. While DUC and Ability’s methods and even our focus differ somewhat, it’s amazing to see how disability activism presents itself in different countries and academic institutions.

One of the major differences between UW and UBC, at least in my opinion, is how the classes are structured. In my experience, most of the classes at UW have a variety of categories that go into someone’s grade, and for non-exam categories, at least one drop is often included in order to account for sickness or general life events. UBC does not do this. None of my classes have more than the participation, midterms, and final categories, and some don’t even do participation. For the classes with participation, no automatic drops are given, and so any missed assignment must be discussed with the professor individually. Learning this made me realize how grateful I am that UW has adopted some principles of universal design into its teaching structure, and I imagine that some UW instructors might be grateful that they don’t have to deal with as many students emailing them asking for an excused absence.

From a cultural perspective, Seattle and Vancouver are similar in many respects. It’s the little things that catch me sometimes. Last week, we had our first true rainy day. To my surprise, I saw a large number of people using umbrellas. As someone who grew up in Tacoma and then Seattle, I was initially taken aback, as I’m so used to the majority of people simply using rain jackets. We even semi-seriously joke that you know a tourist by the fact they’re using an umbrella. While it might be a small thing, it was one of the things that really made me realize I was no longer in Seattle.

While I do miss Seattle sometimes, I can already tell that when I leave, I’m going to miss the people, places, and experiences that I’ve had, and even though I’m nervous right now due to midterms starting next week, I can’t wait to see what my final two months will hold. I can’t believe it’s already been a month.

The Corbett British Columbia-Washington International Exchange Program Fund provides an opportunity for undergraduate students at the University of Washington to spend two semesters at the University of British Columbia or University of Victoria; and for students from the University of British Columbia and University of Victoria to spend three quarters at the University of Washington.