Meet Associate Dean Stephanie Samboo
Stephanie (L) in Amsterdam, with a friend. Photo: Stephanie Samboo
Stephanie Samboo is the Associate Dean for the School of Communication and Literary Studies. She joined Sheridan as a contract ESL Professor in 2004, earned her stripes as a full-time Professor in 2007, assumed the English Coordinator-ship in 2010, and took on the role of Associate Dean in 2014. Before she was a teacher, she was a “suit” in two multinational advertising agencies in Singapore overseeing the entire advertising process from conception to the production of finished advertisements. Stephanie treasures the 15+ years of teaching experience she has had in tertiary institutions. To her, teaching is a vocation which only the fortunate are called to do. Nowadays, she gets her teaching fix by living vicariously through her faculty.
Stephanie is currently pursuing her PhD in English with a focus on Rhetoric at the University of Waterloo. Her research focuses on how existing models of composition pedagogy marginalize the voices of non-native English speakers in the post-secondary classroom, and it explores ways to mitigate this issue using the concept of translingual studies. When Stephanie is not pounding away at her computer, she enjoys experimenting with new Gordon Ramsay recipes, as long as they take less than 30 minutes. Her other pleasures are reading, travelling and dancing.
Stephanie Samboo answers Alchemy’s Proust Questionnaire:
Favourite virtue: Kindness; you can never be too kind.
Most important lesson I’ve learned this year: The greater your storm, the brighter your rainbow.
My favourite qualities in a student: I admire a student who perseveres and has the courage to take risks.
My favourite qualities in a teacher: The best teachers I had were empathetic, humorous and introspective.
Moment in my life I’d like to re-live: Catching tadpoles in the monsoon drains in Singapore with my childhood friends.
In my opinion the secret to success is: Self belief.
My favourite word: Salubrious: conducive to health or wellbeing. I love the concept of it, and the long “oo” sound.
My favourite quotation: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.” –Marianne Williamson
If I weren’t a teacher/administrator I’d be: A musician.
The talent or skill I wish I had: To be able to play the acoustic version of “Hotel California” on a guitar.
My favourite historical, literary, or cinematic character(s): Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice (the Colin Firth version, of course!)
My favourite food/meal: My mother’s rendang (Indonesian beef curry cooked with lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, chillies and coconut milk) and some crusty bread.
The most embarrassing song in my iTunes or music collection: “Kung Fu Fighting” by Carl Douglas
