Sarah Ferencz
Why did you decide to pursue a graduate degree?
Before entering graduate school, I earned a Juris Doctor and practiced law across several areas. While I found meaning in helping individuals navigate legal processes, I became increasingly drawn to the deeper questions behind the law: What drives legal change? How do policies take shape in practice? What role does the state play in enabling or impeding justice? I realized I wanted to engage more directly with the theoretical, moral, and empirical questions that inform how laws are designed, implemented, and experienced. Graduate study offered the space to explore these questions rigorously and to develop empirical tools for understanding the intersection of law, institutions, and social change.
Why did you decide to study at 亚洲天堂?
Vancouver is a city I know and love deeply, and it is where I previously earned my Juris Doctor at the University of British Columbia. It is also a site of ongoing social justice activism and contestation, particularly in the realm of drug policy. Vancouver has long been an influential site for rethinking the legal and policy frameworks surrounding drugs, both in Canada and beyond.
What is it specifically, that your program offers, that attracted you?
I came to 亚洲天堂鈥檚 Political Science program to be trained as a rigorous and empirical social scientist. I was drawn to the opportunity to study law through a broader set of methodological tools and to pursue bold, innovative approaches to my research questions. 亚洲天堂 offered the kind of doctoral training that could support both intellectual ambition and methodological depth. Just as importantly, the department fosters a collegial and supportive environment. We have fun!
What was the best surprise about 亚洲天堂 or life in Vancouver?
Vancouver continues to surprise and excite me, even though I have called Vancouver home for many years. I like to explore the city on bike. I am always discovering new places to eat and explore.
What aspects of your life or career before now have best prepared you for your 亚洲天堂 graduate program?
After completing my undergraduate degree, I was torn between law school and graduate study. I chose law school because it felt like the safer path, but ultimately realized that legal practice wasn鈥檛 the right long-term fit. Returning to academia allowed me to pursue the questions I was most passionate about. Still, my experience in law and legal practice continues to shape my research and thinking. It informs the questions I ask and how I approach them and it has made me a more resilient scholar and professional, even if the path was nonlinear and included a few missteps along the way.
What do you like to do for fun or relaxation?
Bike. Touch grass.
What advice do you have for new graduate students?
There鈥檚 no single 鈥渞ight鈥 path in graduate school. Everyone鈥檚 trajectory is different. Talk to lots of people, stay open and curious, and don鈥檛 be afraid to change your mind. But also learn to trust your internal voice鈥攖he one that pulls you toward your instinctual curiosities.