CHRISTINE SELINGER | WHERE HAS YOUR B.ED. TAKEN YOU?
A lum n
a C h ri s ti n e S e lin g e
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Alumna Christine Selinger (B.Ed./B.
Sc. 2011) has been in the news for a
variety of reasons over the years. In
2006, while a second-year Education
student at the U of R, Christine was
injured in a rappelling incident that
fractured her vertebrae in her lower
back. Just three years later, she
won her first international medal at
the 2009 ICF Canoe Sprint World
Championships, and in total won 10
International Medals, including the
first-ever 2010 Women’s ParaCanoe
V1 World Championship. Also in 2010,
she was the first person living with
a paraplegic condition to go on an
expedition through the Nookta Trail,
which is an especially challenging
back-country 35 kilometer hike. At
her convocation in 2011, Christine
graduated with Distinction and
was the recipient of the President’s
Medal. Christine has recently received
worldwide recognition for her work on
sex and disability.
The following is an interview with
Christine to find out where her B.Ed.
has taken her:
What are you currently doing
professionally?
I am now the Educator for Spinal
Cord Injury Ontario in Toronto. I
sustained a spinal cord injury in
December 2006, which was during
my second year at the U of R, and
that has helped to lead me here.
I create learning opportunities for
people with spinal cord injuries, their
loved ones, healthcare professionals
and essentially anyone who wants
information about spinal injuries.
In my current role I create online,
blended, and in-person learning
opportunities—meaning, that I provide
educational opportunities through
several different mediums. I manage
learning projects and make those
learning opportunities available
across the province, country or world
(depending on the project and its
scope). I host and develop webcasts
and online meetings. I design, develop,
and implement training opportunities
through the use of the authoring tools
Adobe Captivate and Camtasia Studio.
I also still privately tutor Mathematics
and English in the evenings (after
work). I love working with students
and found that I really missed that
interaction in my everyday work.
In 2013, I was the Lead Instructor
for a Math tutoring agency called
Mathnasium, but now I privately tutor
students.
How did you come to live and work
in Ontario? What obstacles did you
find in becoming employed? How did
you overcome? What support did you
receive?
I moved to Toronto just after
graduation with my partner, Jerrod
Smith. He was headed here to pursue
his Master’s and Ph.D. in Mathematics,
and I didn’t want to live across the
country from him, so I picked up and
moved too!
I had a really, really tough time
finding a job here, which was quite
heartbreaking. I spent about four
months applying to pretty much
everything I could—everything from
teaching positions to retail positions.
One of the biggest obstacles I came
across was that Toronto isn’t as
accessible as I (objectively) think it
should be, given that it is the largest
city in Canada (and has the largest
population of people with disabilities).
I was offered several interviews,
only to discover that the employers
either didn’t have barrier-free
access or didn’t have a wheelchair-
accessible washroom. It was a really
disheartening experience.
My mom once told me