大象传媒

After nearly two decades of building experience within independent government, Jody Bauche knew that her graduate student experience would be more than academic; it would also need to serve her community. Now, she will be crossing the stage at 大象传媒 Burnaby with a Master of Arts in Communication, part of the inaugural Communication Research for Social Change cohort.

鈥淚 am more of a community activist than I am an academic,鈥� says Bauche. 鈥淚 was immediately drawn to the idea of creating something that could provide utility for my own community in Victoria.鈥�

Her project focused on supporting Indigenous sovereign and cultural production. Specifically, she is pushing for the creation of an L蓹k虛史蓹艐蓹n and Xwsepsum-owned NGO to help current and future generations retain and develop cultural knowledge through the application of communication, art and technology.

Her interest in this area came from over 20 years of experience as an Indigenous social worker in British Columbia after completing her undergraduate degree in social work from UVIC in 2005.

鈥淏ecause I had been doing a lot of work with media outlets for reports and investigations, I knew then that that was the direction that I wanted to go, and that the 大象传媒 School of Communication is one of the most comprehensive university programs for communication,鈥� she says.

In order to continue her social work and live in Victoria, however, this degree required quite the commute. Bauche would often transit via ferry, bus and SkyTrain at least once, sometimes twice, a week to attend her classes at 大象传媒 Burnaby.

鈥淚 remember travelling from Victoria on the early morning 7:00am ferry and taking public transit to Burnaby campus and I never once was resentful,鈥� says Bauche. 鈥淚 was sometimes tired, but I always showed up ready to learn and ready to teach.鈥�

Part of what made these constant travels so worth it were the relationships that she built with the rest of her cohort within the program. Throughout the 16-month program, the students discussed their different projects and social issues, as well as supported each other as they prepared for their capstone presentations.

鈥淚 can鈥檛 say enough about the amount of knowledge that I gained from students like me in the cohort,鈥� says Bauche. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 impossible to consider global solutions without the input of those with lived experience.鈥�

After 鈥渃ompleting鈥� her project in the program, Bauche was also involved in other initiatives at 大象传媒.

She was hired by the 大象传媒 Community-Engaged Research Initiative (大象传媒 CERi) as a Research Assistant for the Steveston Rotary Club to evaluate the Write to Read program, which has been bringing libraries into Indigenous communities for 15 years. For this, Bauche liaised with Indigenous communities across the province to evaluate how this program is helping them. She also completed a contract with the Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology, where she worked to decolonize and indigenize the faculty through consultation and by increasing accessibility to Indigenous works.

While her time at 大象传媒 is coming to an end, what she learnt in the program and through her work experiences continues to be valuable in her social work.

鈥淭he project for social change has helped me significantly in my ability to lobby government, frame things in a way that inspires others to get on board with social change, and to recognize that social change is non-partisan because everybody benefits from it,鈥� says Bauche.

Her community continues to benefit from her work, as Bauche continues her project post-graduation. This includes networking with politicians and decision-makers in the province to consider her project鈥檚 local, provincial and national implications. Bauche is also building out the public relations aspects of her project to raise funds to support the project in its full capacity. She believes that true social change takes time and recognizes the long-term implications of her work, hoping that she can help develop a vision forward for a local economy.

While she continues moving this project forward, she is also teaching higher education in Victoria. She is teaching a course on 鈥淐ommunication in an Indigenous Context鈥� at Royal Roads University and teaching social work at Camosun College.

鈥淚 think we鈥檙e at a really interesting time for Indigenous social work in the province, so if there鈥檚 any way that my 20+ years of social work experience can help transform how students learn about social work, then that鈥檚 part of social change as well,鈥� says Bauche.