Sam Smyth

Hello! I'm Sam, a fourth/fifth year student at the University of Victoria (British Columbia, Canada), where I am currently finishing up an undergraduate degree in Anthropology while starting an interdisciplinary minor in Technology and Society.

I was born in Calgary, Alberta, but moved to Vancouver Island at a young age, eventually ending up in Victoria. I live with my loving parents, but feel the need to move out, as I have done this once before, so I have had a taste of freedom, but also because I feel an intense attraction to independence and self-subsistence.

One of my first jobs was a typical job for a young person, which was working at the local grocery store. Although not my favorite job, it taught me customer service skills which transferred into interpersonal skills later in life. I have worked multiple residential care jobs, initially working as an entry level worker in things such as landscaping and carpentry. Later, I applied my customer service skills to managing a small landscaping business with a close friend. We found clients, sold them on work, and purchased tools and machines, which was a risky decision for people our age. Feeling confident in my success with landscaping, I found work with College Pro Painters, essentially becoming a pressure washer subcontractor for their lower Vancouver Island branch. This had me managing my schedule, calling clients, and up-selling work, which proved to be very difficult, yet extremely rewarding both financially and in terms of self confidence.

I love playing tennis, which I played daily when I was in high school, and continue to play to this day. In addition to being a competitive player in high school, I played on the Uvic tennis team as well. Music is also a large part of my life. Culture and society is a central interest to me, as I believe our social structure could be streamlined effectively through many areas, especially technology. I am very keen on further exploring the interplay between technology and society, how it functions, and how we can improve this relationship. Ideas such as community, poverty mitigation, togetherness, and strengthening of the 99% are central to my interests. Naturally, this makes me interested in politics and current events, which I often study in my free time. Deep and critical thinking is at the forefront of my interests. One of my favorite quotes is from Albert Maysles, stating "tyranny is the deliberate removal of nuance."