Hello! I’m Ben Sheppard-Reid and I’m a fourth-year elementary teacher candidate in the BEd, Elementary Program at the University of Victoria. With both my parents and grandparents being educators, I have always known that I want to follow in their path, (aside from the short phase everyone goes through where they want to be a marine biologist after going to the aquarium for the first time). I am from Delta, British Columbia and hope to teach in a French-immersion middle school classroom when I start my career.
Growing up, I always loved being in and around the water. Beaches, rivers, and lakes were my go to in the summer, and I joined swimming as early as I can remember. I started playing water polo in grade 11 and still play today with UVic collegiate team. I started coaching swimming for my home club in 2018 and now coach swimming for Island Swim Club, and water polo for Saanich Water Polo School here on the island. I love getting to work with athletes of all ages, as young as 3 and as old as 60!
I got to take an EdTech course last year as a part of my timetable and found it to be a super interesting introduction to the theory of technology in the classroom, the rules around using it in lessons, as well as the different ways we can use it to enhance learning in our classrooms. I’m hoping to take a few more EdTech courses to finish my degree with a Professional Specialization Certificate in Information Communication Technology!