Chilliwack veteran named Director of UFV AVP Indigenous office

“I feel honoured and humbled to be in a position where I can support Indigenous students at UFV and grow our visibility around the community,” Adamik said in a statement. “UFV has deep ties to the Indigenous communities whose lands we reside upon, and I have always felt a connection to Indigenous peoples.”

A UFV administrator welcomed Adamik’s promotion as the university strives to implement the principles of reconciliation.

“I am excited and looking forward to working with and learning from Ana Adamik,” says Shirley Hardman, Associate Vice-President, Indigenous. “Ana brings a youthfulness to the office together with a heartfelt desire to move the university to a place of Reconciliation in all that we do.”

Adamik was born in Costa Rica before her family moved to the Lower Mainland when she was five years old. As a child and teen, she developed a curiosity and empathy for Indigenous culture through schooling and visiting the Museum of Anthropology at UBC.

“Growing up, I was always mistaken as an Indigenous person from a First Nation in Canada, and I would always get asked where I’m from and for my status card,” Adamik said. “Having that little bit of exposure into how Indigenous people can be perceived or treated allowed me to connect with them.”

In 2001, Adamik joined the Canadian Armed Forces as a way to travel throughout the world, experience different cultures, and protect Canadians and civilians globally. A few months later 9/11 happened and it reaffirmed her desire to serve others.

During her time in the military, she worked in the areas of leadership, recruitment, finance, and community engagement, including liaising with Indigenous communities in BC. She also helped coordinate clinical deployments to remote Indigenous communities when she worked with the Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA).

Adamik left the military in 2016 to pursue a master’s degree in tourism management from Royal Roads University. In 2020, she had planned to visit Costa Rica to conduct research projects focused on educating visitors and hosts of the origins of the land, but the trip was cancelled due to the global pandemic. That unfortunate timing led her eventually to UFV in 2020, where she made a tremendous impact in the university as an executive assistant in the Vice-Provost Academic office.

Image: UFV / Ana Adamik served for 15 years in the Canadian Armed Forces before leaving to pursue a master’s degree at Royal Roads University.

“In this role, she has liaised with internal departments to ensure policies and procedures are executed, while building relationships with Indigenous communities and partners, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers,” says Tracy Ryder Glass, Vice Provost Academic.

At UFV, Adamik was able to utilize the organizational and problem-solving skills she acquired from the military. As a recruiter in the Canadian Armed Forces, she often conferred with teenage Indigenous prospective recruits. Those experiences uniquely positioned her to apply for the role within the AVP Indigenous office.

“One thing I have learned in my experience is the importance and the power of open communication,” Adamik says. “We have to ensure that we are understanding the needs of Indigenous students and communities. We want them to feel at home at UFV.”

by Marcus Gordon

Chilliwack veteran named Director of UFV AVP Indigenous office

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