Sarah Hedges-Chou

MA Alumni 2015

Honours BA (University of Toronto)

MA candidate Sarah Hedges-Chou grew up outside of the small town of Cobourg, Ontario. Upon graduating from high school, she moved to Toronto to pursue a Bachelor degree in International Relations at the University of Toronto. After taking a Women’s and Gender Studies course, in her second year, Sarah decided to make a change. “I loved [the course], so I quickly switched to a double major. It was just so different from the other university experiences that I had had up until then. I found a niche of friends and people I really clicked with –like-minded people.”

Sarah’s decision to pursue a Master’s in Women’s and Gender Studies at �Ӱ�ԭ�� was greatly due to the flexibility of the program: “It is so interdisciplinary, so within it you can really go [in] any direction you want and apply the lens of gender.“ ”The Pauline Jewett Institute is a tiny department, but it is really wonderful and the faculty are all very supportive. The people are great –they know your name and what you are studying. It is a very collegial environment. And because Gender Studies is based around the idea of social justice and transformation, it’s academic but there is application to the real world, your daily interactions, as well as at policy levels. I like that it affects every aspect of our lives; I can’t separate my academic work from how I live my life”.

Adjusting to life at �Ӱ�ԭ�� and living in Ottawa has been a big change for Sarah…”but a good change. U of T, as an undergrad student, is kind of overwhelming. �Ӱ�ԭ�� is smaller, and has many charms. I think it is a really friendly school, and it’s nice to be able to know everyone in the department. I really do like Ottawa. It’s a good-sized city, it has all of the amenities of a large city, but it also has a small town feel.”

Sarah is pursuing the Master’s Research Essay as part of her MA requirement, with her research focusing on gendered access to cities. “My topic always seems to be changing, but right now it has to do with gender and city planning. I am looking at issues of access and mobility in terms of how gender is experienced and reproduced on public transportation. I think it is a major issue in terms of safety, or perceptions of safety, and how cities are built. Without any consideration to the diversity of citizens or transit riders in planning, a lot of people can be excluded and alienated from cities.”

When asked about her most memorable experience while studying at �Ӱ�ԭ��, Sarah reflects on her cohort: “I can’t pinpoint an exact moment. But there are so many memorable seminars and classes I have had with my cohort. There are eight of us and we are all very close and get along really well. I have great memories of us studying feminist theory and discussing topics like embodiment and research ethics together. Learning about these big debates with a supportive group of friends, who share similar principles, but also have extremely different backgrounds and opinions – we’ve been able to learn so much from one other.”