Rowena Alfonso is a University of Toronto alumna, having attended the school for her BA, MA, and PhD degrees. Over the course of her studies, she worked as a teaching assistant and course instructor at both the St. George and Scarborough campuses, which she looks back on in this interview. Rowena also discusses her experience attending graduate school as a young mother and the unique challenges associated with her situation, but describes the students at UTSC as being a source of great inspiration for her throughout her journey. She then offers some insights on key differences between the Scarborough and St. George campuses before turning to a discussion of academia more broadly, pointing briefly to the precarity of scholars from marginalized communities and the corporatization of the university.

Researcher: Uthish Ganesh
Date: June 10, 2015