Completing the Master of Arts in Human Rights and Social Justice at Thompson Rivers University has been a transformative intellectual, ethical, and personal journey, and has not only reshaped what I know, but how I understand knowledge, responsibility, and justice. Across the program, I developed a deeper theoretical foundation, a more critical and reflexive research practice, and a clearer sense of my role within global and local struggles for human dignity.
One of the earliest and most foundational outcomes was gaining the conceptual vocabulary and analytical tools needed to engage meaningfully in human rights discourse. As the Foundations of HRSJ course emphasized, the program “opened the door and gave us the tools to walk through it,” providing grounding in universalism and relativism, intersectionality, critical race theory, disability theory, feminist analysis, and the political structures that shape rights and justice. This breadth of theory allowed me to approach human rights issues from multiple angles and to recognize the complexity behind seemingly straightforward claims about justice or equality.
Another major learning outcome was the development of a relational and land‑based understanding of knowledge. Indigenous Ways of Knowing challenged me to rethink what counts as knowledge and how it is formed. The course taught that “learning in this context isn’t just about absorbing information, it’s about accountability,” and that relationships with land, language, community, and story, shape understanding in profound ways. This shift expanded my capacity to engage respectfully with Indigenous epistemologies and to recognize the ongoing impacts of colonialism on sovereignty, access, and resurgence.
The program also strengthened my ability to analyze violence, trauma, and genocide with nuance and care. Courses such as Genocide in the 20th Century and Trauma, Rights and Justice pushed me to confront difficult histories and to understand how violence is rationalized, enacted, and remembered. I learned to identify early warning signs of genocide, to navigate debates around international responses, and to think critically about whose suffering is recognized and whose is erased. As one course reflection noted, this work required “holding space for difficult histories” and understanding trauma as both a psychological and political category.
Methodologically, the program profoundly reshaped my understanding of research. Problem Solving in the Field taught me that research is inseparable from ethics, power, and positionality. As the course reflection states, research is “a practice shaped by ethics, relationships, and responsibility,” not merely a technical process. I learned to move fluidly between qualitative and quantitative approaches, to evaluate methodologies critically, and to design research that is accountable to the communities it engages. This outcome was reinforced through the practicum in Nepal, where observing NGOs in context highlighted the real-world implications of humanitarian work and the importance of humility, cultural awareness, and reflexivity.
The program also deepened my understanding of global political and economic systems. In Emergence of Global Capitalism, I learned to see the nation-state and global capitalism as historically constructed and deeply intertwined with violence, resistance, and negotiation. This course strengthened my ability to analyze political structures, understand global interdependence, and situate contemporary conflicts within longer histories of revolution, pacification, and constitutionalism.
Creativity, activism, and representation emerged as another key area of growth. Art, Media and Dissent taught me to see artistic practice and media strategy as central to feminist and social justice movements. The course emphasized that dissent is “a practice shaped by art, by storytelling, by networks, by bodies in public space,” expanding my understanding of how cultural work shapes political possibility.
The program strengthened my ability to analyze risk, vulnerability, and structural inequality. Risk, Place and Social Justice revealed how risk is socially produced and unevenly distributed, teaching me to identify policy gaps, planning failures, and the narratives that shape public perception. As the course reflection notes, studying risk ultimately means “studying justice”, asking who is protected, who is exposed, and why.
Finally, The HRSJ program, and especially the practicum in Nepal, has profoundly expanded my photography practice, taking me to a new place as a humanitarian photographer. The program’s emphasis on relational accountability, ethical storytelling, and critical engagement with power reshaped how I approach the camera as both a tool and a responsibility. In Nepal, working closely with NGOs, community members, and people navigating complex social realities pushed me to slow down, listen differently, and photograph with greater intention. The practicum brought me face‑to‑face with the lived experiences behind the theories I had been studying, and it challenged me to create images that honour context, dignity, and agency rather than simply document moments. This experience deepened my understanding of what it means to tell stories with people rather than about them, and it strengthened my commitment to using photography as a medium for advocacy, connection, and social justice.
Across the program, a unifying learning outcome emerged: the ability to think critically, relationally, and ethically about human rights and social justice. I leave the program with stronger analytical skills, deeper interdisciplinary knowledge, and a more grounded sense of responsibility. I have learned to listen more carefully, to question more rigorously, and to act with greater humility and intention. These outcomes will continue to shape my work as a researcher, humanitarian photographer, and advocate long after the degree itself is complete.
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