Cindy Ozouf – OL Resources and Materials Specialist

Hello and Welcome to the Open Learning Community! My name is Cindy Ozouf, and I am one of the Resources and Materials Specialists here at TRU Open Learning.

A little about myself, I am currently pursuing my degree in General Studies with Open Learning, and I am close to completion. As a part of my educational journey, I took advantage of PLAR (Prior Learning and Assessment Recognition) program at TRU. This program can help you receive credits for life and through your work experience. As a result of this program, I received 45 credits towards my degree. I am big fan of this program and often urge students, especially, mature students to explore PLAR as part of their journey. It has been helpful in my situation as a full-time employee, wife, and mother and as mature student going back to school.

I started working at Thompson Rivers University in 2011. My first role was in the Faculty of Law as the inaugural Records and Admissions Officer; a role I held for the next three years. In subsequent years, I transitioned into other roles within Thompson Rivers University namely, in the Faculty of Education, supporting Master of Education Students and eventually in 2015, I landed a role in Open Learning, working in the Curriculum Services department and I have not looked back since. This department is responsible for initiating and developing online courses. I moved on to other roles within Open Learning which has provided me with the history and knowledge of the different processes and procedures. With this knowledge, I have sort of become an expert in my own way and I have become more efficient in providing information to my colleagues and to students. I love Open Learning so much that I am still here to this day! It’s a special place. I am grateful to really love what I do. I think loving what you do is an important aspect when selecting your own career path.

I am also a member of the union that supports students and the TRU community, CUPE 4879. I am a member of the executive as First Vice President for the support staff. I am an activist at heart, and I am very enthusiastic and passionate about speaking up about causes I can care about and supporting students, faculty, and the surrounding community.

As a current open learning student, one piece of advice that I can share about taking open learning courses is to learn to discipline yourself and create a schedule that you can stick with. It is easy to procrastinate and make excuses, but what really helped me to keep on task is to do course work every single day, even for a short amount of time. This really helped me, and I hope that it works for you too!

When I am not at work, I am a wife and a mama to a 14-year-old daughter and 2 cats!  I enjoy spending time with my partner and daughter. I also like to stay active, and I am an avid runner (which I try do to whenever I can).

I am thrilled to be a part of the Open Learning family in my current role supporting our students and assisting you whenever possible.

Please feel free to reach out if you need assistance or have any questions regarding course materials and requirements, or to just say hello. I can be contacted via email olmaterials@tru.ca