My name is Kayla Poppy, and I am a teacher candidate in the education program at Thompson Rivers University (TRU). I was born and raised in the rural town of Lillooet, British Columbia which is located on the Nothern St’at’imc Nation territory. Becoming an educator has been my goal since I was eight years old, so immediately after completing my high school education at Lillooet Secondary School in 2018, I enrolled in classes for the Fall 2018 semester at TRU.
Coming to TRU I knew that I wanted to obtain a degree before applying for the Bachelor of Education program, but I did not yet know what I was interested in. In my first year, I took a variety of Arts and Science courses, and found that I was passionate about English and physical Geography. This passion led me to complete my Bachelor of Arts degree with a major in English and a minor in Geography. In addition to my Arts degree, I began my first year of the Bachelor of Education program at TRU in September of 2022. I look forward to finishing this program in April of 2024, and starting work as an educator!
Growing up in a small town has led me to live a very adventurous life. In my free time I enjoy hiking with my Blue Heeler, skiing, dirt biking, golfing, swimming, playing ice-hockey, reading, and above all, trying new things! It is for this reason that I would like to work in Kamloops, Lillooet, or a rural town once I graduate; I want to continue to experience new things, to do the things that I love, and I want to create a safe space for my students so that they will have the confidence to try new and exciting things!
Outside of school, I also enjoy spending time with my family and friends. My parents continue to live in Lillooet and my younger sister lives with me in Kamloops, but I have many extended family members living all over British Columbia. I am fortunate for this as I can spend time in places like Kamloops, Kelowna, Peachland, Surrey, and Langley while visiting my extended family. In addition to this, I am fortunate to have stayed in touch with many of the friends I grew up with in Lillooet, and to have made new friends during my time at TRU.