Miriam Matejova, Honours Degree in International Studies - 2009

Hello, my name is Miriam Matejova. Dr. Wilkening asked me to tell you my story. He said it may give you ideas and inspiration for your post-INTS and post-UNBC journeys. My Canadian academic journey started when I immigrated to Canada from Slovakia in 2004. I graduated from UNBC with an Honours degree in International Studies in 2009. Then I went on to earn a Master’s degree in International Affairs from Carleton University’s Norman Paterson School. While in Ottawa, I also volunteered for the United Nations Association in Canada, co-edited a peer-reviewed journal of international affairs (the Paterson Review), chaired the 2011 Model NATO conference, and conducted archival research to co-author a book and articles on Canada’s foreign intelligence. I also travelled to Barbados where I spent two months as a project assistant at the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS.

Upon my return, I began a career in Canada’s public service, first working as an analyst at the Canadian International Development Agency and then as an economist at Environment Canada where I served as the national lead in providing economic analysis for federal environmental assessments. My work on Canada’s species at risk regulations earned me the 2014 Regulatory Excellence Award for Advancement in Instrument Design.

I also volunteered for a global consulting firm GlobalINT where I conducted research on energy and environmental security largely related to climate change risks. In collaboration with GlobalINT’s Strategy Director, Dr. Chad Briggs, I published a book chapter on environmental security and energy in the Arctic.

In 2012, I was awarded UNBC’s Alumnus of the Year for Professional Excellence Award. This recognition motivated me to establish my own scholarship at UNBC, the Miriam Matejova Award, currently valued at about $1,700 per academic year. The award is meant to help new immigrants who are seeking post-secondary education in Canada. I haven’t forgotten that I was once a financially struggling immigrant.

I am now a PhD student in Political Science at the University of British Columbia, working under the supervision of Dr. Peter Dauvergne. My research centers on global environmental politics associated with climate change impacts and responses. In particular, I am interested in energy and environmental security in the Arctic and Asia Pacific.

Since coming to UBC in September 2013, I have been awarded a Vanier Graduate Scholarship, a Killam Doctoral Scholarship, and, most recently the Donald N. Byers Memorial Prize as the highest-ranking Killam Doctoral Scholar of 2014. [INTS Note: The Vanier is a highly competitive award. Only about 50 are given out to social sciences and humanities graduate students in Canada each year. The Killam Doctoral Scholarship is “the most prestigious awards available to graduate students at UBC”.]

In addition to my research and teaching assistant duties at UBC, I continue volunteering. As a Liu Scholar at UBC’s Liu Institute for Global Issues, I organize public lectures, workshops and gallery exhibits, and actively participate in various student information sessions. I also volunteer as a translator and reviewer for the TED Open Translation Project and, in my free time, write short non-fiction. My creative writing has appeared in the Globe and Mail, Her Circle, and several travel magazines.