My name is Maddie Packford, my pronouns are she/her, and I was born and raised in Victoria. I grew up on the traditional territories of the Á,LEṈENEȻ ȽTE (W̱SÁNEĆ) peoples. I was born on December 17th, 2002, so I just recently turned 21!
I enjoy many different hobbies! My parents placed me in singing lessons at a very young age. Their motivation was to squash any fears of public speaking, as they figured that if I could sing in front of people, I could probably speak. Coincidentally singing turned into being a huge avenue of self-discovery in my life. I pursued musical theatre in elementary, middle, and high school. Soccer has also been a big part of my life, I’ve been playing for 16 years now! Growing up was a constant switch of character shoes to cleats! I enjoy reading books, shopping with my Mom, walking my two dogs, Gary and Norman, and attending as many concerts as I can.
My friends are extremely important to me. Over the summer my best friend and I travelled to the UK and visited London and Wales! This was such a formative experience for me as I’d left the country only once before when I was six. From the moment I landed back in Victoria, I’ve been planning trips back to Europe, Thailand, and South Africa. I don’t know where the money is going to come from, but it will come! My boyfriend and I also travelled across Canada during the summer in a van! While I plan and dream of trips back to Europe, it’s trips such as this one in the van that remind me of how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful place.
I think I’ve always known I wanted to teach. I grew up in a cul de sac filled with children of all different ages, and as one of the older children, I constantly found myself taking on the role of teacher. It wasn’t always subjects like math or writing, but also shoe tying, bike riding, or even manners. During breaks from school, over the summer, christmas or spring break, I set up a school in the garage for all the kids in the neighbourhood. I taught kids how to spell their name, got a jump on learning multiplication tables, the planets in the solar system, the basic rules of grammar and punctuation, and more. I remember being so thrilled to watch their progress, and that they even just wanted to come! After graduating high school, I didn’t go straight to the education program, but I’m happy that I made it.
