My name is Kristy Townshend, and I'm a
Master's of Linguistics student here at
Western. I came to Western for my
graduate degree because I believe it
offered me the best support and services
available, so really good funding, and
also I'm able to research what I wanted.
I had more flexibility in the courses I
could take within my program, but also I
could take a couple outside of my
program, so I found that the
flexibility and the support was really,
really good. So I am studying youth
mental health, I am very interested in
promoting youth mental health in the
community, and within the school system.
What makes my program help me thrive,
and be successful, I believe it is the
people for sure, I have an excellent
supervisor that supports me, we go for
lunch together and it's casual, but I
don't feel so much pressure, and anxiety
he really does help me feel supported in
what I do. I really like the admin assistant,
she is amazing, really when I first
arrived, we had a welcoming lunch and the
second year students would come to
the lunch, and we'd meet and talk, and
they'd guide us and
with, you know, getting keys for our
offices, and knowing where the
photocopy machine is, everything like
that. So I find what helps me thrive
are definitely the people there, and
a really good, friendly environment. My
best piece of advice for potential
applicant to apply for Master's in
Linguistics is, don't be afraid to reach out,
don't be afraid to email, because I
emailed my supervisor, and he got back to
me right away, he was able to answer all
my questions, he was able to connect me
with the current grad students, and
they got in touch with me when I had
concerns about housing, or what the best
place to live, and they told me the best
like roads and bus routes or what's
convenient. So don't be afraid to reach
out and get the support, because it's
there.
