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December 15, 1975 – May 3, 2007

Terry Martin (Shelley’s father), family, and friends are establishing this award in memory of his beloved daughter, Shelley Anne Martin.

Shelley’s dream and passion was to help educate, encourage and mentor, bright young people in pursuing their dreams.  The Dr. Shelley Anne Martin Memorial Scholarship is established to help fulfill her dream.

Dr. Martin obtained her B.A. at the University of Victoria in 1998.  Her career path then took her to Boston, MASS where she graduated with an M.A. from Emerson College in 2001.  A talented and passionate teacher, she taught for two years at Okanagan University College in the place of her birth, Kelowna, BC.

In 2003, Shelley was granted a Fellowship to study for her Ph.D. at the University of Louisiana in LaFayette.  She represented the university at many international conferences developing friendships with peers from a variety of backgrounds and countries.  A champion of the underdog, she volunteered for many worthwhile charitable organizations in Louisiana and Victoria, BC and had a particular passion for championing women’s issues.

Dr. Martin completed her Ph.D. at the University of Louisiana – Lafayette April 17th, 2007 completing her final year with a GPA of 4.0/4.  She was tragically killed by a drunk driver on May 3, 2007.  Her parents accepted her Doctorate Degree posthumously at the university’s convocation exercises May 19th, 2007.

During the years of dedicated study and work, Shelley maintained close ties with friends and family in her beloved BC.  She was to return home to Victoria for good on May 25th, 2007.  She is sadly missed by her family, friends, and colleagues.

Excerpt from Dr. Shelley Martin’s Teaching Philosophy:

“My teaching philosophy is built around inquiry-based learning, where the asking of questions is privileged over finding answers.  As such, I structure my classrooms so that students talk not only to me but also to each other.  My goal is to foster their curiosity about literature and the cultures in which it is produced, because, I believe, it is their curiosity that motivates their learning.  To this end, I have high expectations for my students.  In my classroom, they read challenging texts of literature and theory and learn how both can be useful tools for inquiry.  I have found that most of my students rise to the challenge and frequently enlighten me about ways of approaching texts that I had not previously considered.”