Christiana Fizet

Ottawa, Ontario
Politics & History

Christiana Fizet’s affiliation with Trent University started at a very young age – in fact, she was only a newborn when she first lived in Champlain College with her parents, both alumni, who were college dons at the time. More than 20 years later, Christiana returned to Trent, this time as a student herself.

“Coming back to Champlain felt like I was coming home,” she recalls.

While her parents may have played a small role in influencing her decision to come back to Trent, Christiana says that the University’s emphasis on teaching was what solidified her decision to undertake her degree in Politics and History here.

“Trent is primarily an undergraduate university and the majority of the professors’ time is spent in the classroom, engaging students,” she says. “University presented the next chapter in my life of learning and I thought Trent’s motto nunc cognosco ex parte (now I know in part) was a respectful and honest approach to my next four years.”

Now a new Trent graduate, Christiana describes herself as a creative and curious person. She admits she has an inability to stand still, and, as a result, she’s encountered many adventures, hiking across Spain, cycling across Peru and the Maritimes, traveling across Europe and hitch-hiking in Western Canada.

She also has a musical ear and a passion for reading. She plays the saxophone and has a goal of mastering the banjo. At Trent she served as the Environmental Issues Commissioner for Champlain College and on the Trent University Politics Society executive, played in intramural basketball and volleyball leagues, and volunteered with Frontier College, the Model United Nations, and as a note-taker.

With her undergraduate degree now complete, Christiana is looking forward to pursing a master’s degree in Immigration and Settlement Studies at Ryerson University before moving on to law school. In the future, she hopes to work as a refugee or human rights lawyer and sees herself “living close to water, having a beautiful vegetable garden, cycling to work and playing music.”

Leaving Trent for the second time, Christiana says she is taking with her memories of “phenomenal people” and engaging learning experiences. “University students are taught to think critically,” she says. “This is an invaluable skill but can sometimes lead to a combative classroom. I was fortunate to learn in an environment that forced a rethinking of this combative process, emphasizing learning as a collective and dynamic process. The interdisciplinary nature of Trent has provided me with insight in areas I would not necessarily have encountered elsewhere.”