She dreamed of reaching her higher educational goals but the demands of parenthood and employment forced Christine Webster to take a more circuitous route. With the love and support of family, this spring Webster walked the stage to receive a PhD in Leadership Studies in Victoria.
Surrounded by family that included her husband Martin and her sons, Dr. Christine Webster proudly received her degree at the University of Victoria’s Convocation ceremony held Thursday, June 12.
Webster was born and grew up in Victoria, and was raised by her late grandparents, Andrew and Sarah Webster of Ahousaht. The elder Websters, according to Christine, always supported anyone going to school and would take Ahousaht’s high school students in, allowing them to board at their large Victorian home.
“That was before the high school in Ahousaht was built,” Christine recalls.
A large family, the Websters were rich with children and grandchildren who always stepped up to support one another. When Christine married and started her own family, she bought the house next door to her grandparents’ home, always staying close by.
According to a UVic article written by Michelle Butterfield, Christine said she attempted many times to pursue post secondary higher education.
“Being a new mom made things difficult even with the unwavering support of her grandparents. So, there were many times where she withdrew from programs but she always found her way back,” Butterfield wrote.
Webster worked at the university supporting other Aboriginal students in her role as administrator for UVic’s Department of Indigenous Education. After completing a master’s degree in 2019, Webster found educational opportunities that would allow her to continue to work while pursuing her studies.
“My boss at the time told me to look into Royal Roads University for masters work,” Webster recalled.
While she was interested in higher education, she felt the need to continue working and to honor her family commitments.
“I didn’t plan to do doctorate. It was kind of like this door opened and I stepped into it,” she shared.
Webster says she saw an opportunity to pair the Indigenous Language Revitalization with a PhD program in Indigenous Leadership Studies. In her studies, she explored how programs could be more welcoming to Indigenous Students.
It was the start of the COVID-19 pandemic when Webster began her doctoral work. With the world on lockdown, there were language warriors looking for ways to keep their studies going.
“The Hesquiaht language program offered (lessons on) Zoom so I started that,” said Webster. “We would meet online to hear the language, learn the stories, archives. It was really a grounding experience, and I really found community support in that avenue.”
Webster proudly shares that she has been taking the Indigenous language program with her two sons.
For her doctoral work, Webster turned to Nuu-chah-nulth scholars like Umeek (Dr. Richard Atleo), Ḥaa’yuups (Ron Hamilton), as well as archives and the NTC video collection.
“I went there all the time, citing them,” she shared.
But it was the support of her grandparents, Andrew and Sarah Webster of Ahousaht, that was the beacon that kept Webster on her educational path forward.
“My education pathway always included my grandparents’ aspirations for me,” said Webster.
With her three sons now grown and pursuing their own post secondary education dreams, Christine, following in the footsteps of her grandparents, has taken in a niece. Providing a home in the city for her niece provides an opportunity for the young lady to dream big.
When asked what she would say to her grandparents if they were here to see her walk the stage, Christine wept. Just thinking of her grandparents brought strong emotion.
“I don’t know that I’d need to say anything, I’d just want to hug them,” said Webster.
“When I think about the journey, sometimes you have to find the motivation...they believed so much in education,” said Webster, adding that her grandparents were like her parents. Still living next door to the old Victorian Webster home, Christine says they were really with her the whole time.
With doctorate in hand, Webster will be a faculty member at UVic in July 2025 as an assistant professor.
“I’m excited,” she shared. “I feel like as an Indigenous scholar teaching about Indigenous knowledge systems, it’s a little more reassuring and grounding.”
