Biography

Myself at the beach in Qualicum Beach where my grandmother lives and where I spent my teenage years.

This is a picture of myself on the beach taken in beautiful Qualicum Beach. This is the city where I spent my teenage years and where some of my extended family lives.

My name is William Bennett and thank you for looking through my biography.

Currently, I am a Teacher Candidate at Thompson River University, but I am additionally a graduate from the University of Victoria’s Department of Writing and a current Certified Education Assistant from School District #70 (Pacific Rim) in the city of Port Alberni on sunny Vancouver Island. I am proud to say that I have worked in or adjacent to the education field since 2013 when I was a tutor while obtaining my Education Assistant certification. Additionally, I have worked as a before and after school integration support worker through Kidz Klub in Victoria and through Recreation Integration Victoria during those early summers of my career.

Growing up in the Yukon, specifically the capital of Whitehorse, has allowed me to experience the north and see a variety of different perspectives, but I have lived on the island for much of my adult life. I spent my adolescence in Qualicum Beach, my young adulthood and schooling years in Victoria, and the beginnings of my career in Port Alberni, and I am proud to call the island my home.

Education and family are interwoven subjects for myself, as both of my parents, my stepmother, my grandmother, my aunt, and my uncle were, or are currently, educators.

Outside of work, I try to make fitness a priority either by chopping wood for my parents, walking my dog, or lifting weights at the gym. Physical health and family are important to me. I love my extended and immediate family. I am, according to my sister, the ‘funkle’ of the family. At the gym I try to improve my squat, bench, and deadlift total or work on my cardio. At home I keep active by cutting wood for my mother or by walking her golden retriever. When not studying online via distance education I try to remain as physically active as possible during the 2020 pandemic.

Prior to this unusual year, I used to volunteer for the Portal Players Dramatic Society in Port Alberni either as a stagehand or on set. Other activities that I try to keep myself busy with include keeping my SUV in as good as shape as possible and enjoying the wild, west coast trails and beaches either locally or throughout Vancouver Island.

While I love being an Education Assistant, I know it is my time to move on towards furthering my career and settling down. There is nothing but fond memories for me in and around Port Alberni’s schools working with a variety of students. All things must eventually come to an end, which creates a new beginning, and I am looking forward to wherever the future takes me.

Thank you again for looking over my biography.