社会和社区发展学位释放学生对教学的热情

回顾过去，瓦伦蒂娜·德皮科洛兹瓦内（Valentina Depikolozvane）最终追随母亲的脚步成为一名教师是有道理的。

But that career path wasn't as clear when Depikolozvane enroled in Sheridan's 社会服务工作者(SSW) -老年学 program directly out of high school. It still wasn't apparent when she decided to upgrade her credential to a bachelor's degree via Sheridan's 社会及社区发展荣誉学士学位 (BSCD), a two-year program that arms human service diploma graduates with enhanced critical thinking, research and leadership abilities.

“我只知道我想帮助别人，”Depikolozvane说。 “获得文凭似乎是一个很好的起点，然后BSCD是一个在两年内将文凭转化为学位的机会，而不是至少再花三年时间在另一个项目上。”

Gradually, Depikolozvane's experiences as a BSCD student — whether it was in the classroom, through 工作结合学习经历 or 通过 simply being part of the Sheridan community — helped unlock her true calling.

“This degree can open doors. I now know how to deal with various types of people, and I know how to be a good community member.”

– Valentina Depikolozvane

她的教学之旅始于一份兼职工作，辅导需要特殊住宿的同学。 It continued with an internship as a Learning Assistant and 研究 Facilitator within 谢里登图书馆和学习服务 department, assisting students and faculty with citation and writing skills. In her final year at Sheridan, Depikolozvane began working as an emergency supply teacher for the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School Board — an opportunity she could pursue because of the BSCD's flexible scheduling, including virtual learning and evening classes. 毕业后，她参加了湖首大学的教育学士课程，现在她还教授克罗地亚语课程给达芬-皮尔天主教高中的学生。

“当谢里登创建BSCD项目时，我不认为他们期望教师成为毕业生潜在的职业道路，但我觉得这个学位可以打开大门。 我现在知道如何与各种各样的人打交道，我知道如何成为一个好的社区成员，无论是在学校内部，还是对我的学生，甚至是对我的教学伙伴，”她说。 “我已经期待着组织实地考察，教授重要的事业，或者邀请社区组织到课堂上做嘉宾演讲，或者让学生收集食物捐赠，或者为老年人写圣诞卡。

她补充说：“在谢里登，从SSW -老年学项目开始，我掌握了一些东西。” “文凭是一个很好的垫脚石，我后来所做的一切都与我最终意识到我想为我的职业做的事情有关。”

Sheridan's 社会及社区发展荣誉学士学位 enables graduates of Social Social Service Work, Social Service Work - Gerontology, Child and Youth Care, Community Work or equivalent diploma programs to earn a degree in two years. 该计划通过教授项目管理技能为学生担任领导职务做好准备； 社会创新与创造性解决问题； 非营利组织的治理; 研究和拨款撰写； 社会和企业家精神； 以及社区领导和倡导。 所有的课程都可以在晚上进行。