Mentors of the Faculty of Education
Kurt Smith![](https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/firstgen/wp-content/uploads/sites/7363/2022/10/Kurt-Smith-copie-300x239.jpg)
![](https://onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca/firstgen/wp-content/uploads/sites/7363/2022/10/Kurt-Smith-copie-300x239.jpg)
Associate Professor
As a first-generation University student, hailing from a small rural northwestern BC community I made many rookie mistakes as I navigated my way through academia. I often felt like I was missing information that seemed to be intuitive to my second generation friends. Thankfully, I had many mentors along the way to help me, and I am fortunate to have found my place in academia. Aside from mentorship I credit serendipitous good fortune and hard work as keys to my success. In 2015 I completed my PhD at UBC in Kelowna, and have recently begun building the Cerebrovascular Health, Exercise, and Environmental Research Sciences (CHEERS) Laboratory at UVIC. I look forward to working with other first-generation students to help them discover their own journey through academia.