UFV helps Eleanor Deacon forge leadership identity

Eleanor Deacon is always looking for the next step, determined to keep learning and developing. In 2023, her quest for knowledge brought her to the University of the Fraser Valley, where she enrolled in the Master of Education in Educational Leadership and Mentorship program.

A teacher at a Chilliwack school, Eleanor graduates from the UFV master’s program with a 4.226 GPA. She is the 2025 recipient of the Governor General’s Gold Medal, which is presented to the graduate who achieves the highest academic standing in a graduate degree program.

“It was a pleasant surprise when I got the call for this award,” she says with a smile. “I knew I was working my butt off and this gave me confirmation.”

The UFV Master of Education program covers theories of leadership and mentorship. Eleanor, has been a teacher for nearly 25 years and says the program was the perfect fit at the perfect time for her career, helping her to establish a leadership identity.

Eleanor, who is half Filipino, wrote her graduate thesis on race and racism in schools, fueled by the long-held belief that many teachers of colour don’t feel safe sharing their perspectives. This is what she hopes to address with the knowledge she’s acquired.

“There’s a lot of fear and discomfort engaging in conversations about race and racism when you are a racialized person,” Eleanor says. “Being Filipino hasn’t been a huge part of my identity, but over the past two years I’ve learned to lean into that more and offer support to my colleagues who may feel their identity and story isn’t being honoured at their school sites.”

Her thesis offers a hopeful and non-confrontational framework for having discussions about race and racism. Ultimately, she feels that having open, honest conversations benefits not only teachers and staff, but also students.

“If our thoughts and ideas about racialized students are interfering with the way we assess them, that’s a problem,” Eleanor suggests. “So how can we talk about biases that exist within ourselves so that we can better support our colleagues and our students?

“I’d like to be a leader who gets those conversations started.”

She worked long hours on the thesis and all her classwork, striving to find the tricky balance between work and school. There were times, she admits, when she faltered. But UFV offered the support she needed, and in the moments when she felt most overwhelmed, she remembered words from a school principal who provided her with a reference when she applied for the program.

The words come to her when she’s asked what she’d tell a student just setting out on the same journey: enjoy the learning.

“This is a luxury to be able to do a master’s program, to have the time and money to do it and pursue something you’re interested in,” Eleanor says. “When it gets tough, and it will, just remember that it’s going to be okay. You will make it through. Remember to enjoy it as much as you can, because we’re privileged to have the opportunity.”

Eleanor describes her UFV experience as transformative.

“It’s inspired lots of deep thinking about why I’m here, why I’m doing this, and where I’m going with this,” she says with a smile. “I don’t think those questions are answered quite yet, but I’m very glad that I did it.”

Eleanor will take what she’s learned and apply it to being a better teacher. She may also pursue a leadership role. Whatever the future holds, she says UFV has given her options.

“Maybe something at UFV?” she muses. “One of my instructors was a former student in the program and I was thinking that might be interesting to do. Could I go beyond education into some form of advocacy? Before this program I felt my options were very narrow, and now I feel I’ve opened myself to lots of opportunities.”