To: White Rock Farmers Market Society
From: Kimberly Martin
Date: July 15, 2016
RE: Mary Hartwell Scholarship
Dear WRFM Board of Directors,
I am applying for this grant to take courses in nutrition at Athabasca University. My career goal is to become a high school Home Economics and Culinary Arts teacher. I am enrolled in my Bachelor of General Studies at Thomson Rivers University. I am taking two nutrition courses at Athabasca to meet the requirements for entering UBC's home economics route for their Bachelor of Education. I already meet the requirements to teach Culinary Arts, as I have a Culinary Arts Certificate.
I have twenty six credits remaining in my degree, and eighteen credits must be from a combination of nutrition, textiles and family studies in order to become a Home Economics teacher. I will therefore be taking two courses in nutrition. These courses will allow me to teach students the importance of nutrition and how to create healthy balanced meals. My career goal is to teach high school students how to become efficient in the kitchen, and cook healthy and nutritious meals using fresh local ingredients.
The farmers market has definitely been an important part of my life for the past 4 years. I always look forward to shopping around the market each Sunday, and seeing what fresh produce the vendors have. It's interesting to see what is in-season, and talk with the farmers about how the weather affects the growing schedule of their products. I love that I can buy blueberries from local growers such as Peace Arch Farms, and hear a first hand account of how they picked their blueberries the morning before the market- nothing fresher and more nutritious than that!
1) How do your proposed studies fit the eligible fields of study?
I am taking Nutrition 330: Introduction to Nutrition (3 credits) and Nutrition 405: Nutrition in Health & Disease (3 credits) from Athabasca University. Each course is required in my pursuit of entering UBC's BEd – Home Economics. My career goal is to teach high school students the skills required for a healthy lifestyle. My role will be to teach nutrition, cooking, family studies and textiles.
2) How do you support the Market and it's vendors?
I have worked for the WRFM for the past four years. First I started in the mushroom tent, then I moved to the coffee tent, and now I assist Helen with managing the market, and also providing information to patrons. Every Sunday I help set up and tear down at the end of the day. I handle customer complaints and many compliments, as well as inform people about how they may become vendors at the market. Most importantly, I spend my farmers market pay each week at the market on fresh fruit, vegetables, wine, cheese and other delectables! This is a job that I love and look forward to each week. I love seeing all the fresh produce and knowing that my meals for the week were grown by my favourite farmers, and picked at the height of freshness.
3) What is your passion and how will the course for which you seek funding make a difference in your life and the life of others?
I have a passion for food. It has been my passion since a teenager when my mom threw in the towel and decided she had cooked enough meals for her lifetime. I gladly took over. I would watch the food network religiously, and cook new dishes I learned from my favourite chefs.
After highschool, I became more interested in nutrition in my pursuit of a healthier lifestyle. I started exercising regularly and eating a whole foods diet, focusing on more fresh vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats. There was a lot to learn! I decided that cooking was a passion I could turn into a career, and completed my Culinary Arts Certificate at VCC.
Now that I am a mother of two, I have realized that having the ability to cook nutritious meals is vital. I have decided that I am going back to school to become qualified to teach high school students these important life skills. These two nutrition courses are required for me to reach my goal.
I love cooking, and making beautiful dishes made with fresh local ingredients. I want to teach students the importance of eating fresh and local, and the skills required to create balanced meals at home.
I have attached a letter of reference from my employer. I am registered with Thompson Rivers University and Athabasca University. I am unable to prove my registration in the two Nutrition courses at Athabasca. This is because they require full payment ($800/ea.) upon registration. Since I will be using a student loan to complete my education, I will not have the funds to register for these courses until I receive my student loan.
Please consider me for this scholarship. It will be greatly appreciated, and help me achieve my career goals.
Sincerely,
Kimberly Martin