Day in the Life: Judy Nazar

Judy Nazar loves languages—and that passion has led to a long and fulfilling career at UVic.

Her linguistic journey began when she traveled to Germany from her hometown of Victoria to attend high school. “With every new country I visited while studying in Europe, I was exposed to many different languages, and the more languages I heard, the more my curiosity was piqued,” Nazar explains.

On returning to Victoria, Nazar’s newfound interest in languages inspirited her to pursue a job at UVic’s Humanities Computing and Media Centre (HCMC)—then called the Language Centre.

Like the rest of the UVic campus, the centre was quite different back in the ‘60s. Instead of sophisticated recording equipment, CDs and quad-core computers, Nazar worked with heavy reel-to-reel tape recorders, vinyl records and a brand new electric typewriter. “It was exciting at the time,” Nazar says with a laugh, “very high tech!”

Nazar temporarily left UVic and moved with her husband to Powell River. When they returned to Victoria in the ‘80s, Nazar jumped at the opportunity to once again work in HCMC—an environment where she was exposed to a variety of languages and technology.

As the campus grew, technology evolved.  Vinyl was replaced with cassettes and cassettes were eventually replaced with CDs.

“Oh yes, I’ve seen a lot of technological changes in my career over the years,” Nazar says with a twinkling smile. She welcomes these changes, seeing them as a chance to learn new skills.

Whether it’s Skyping with her grandkids—she’s the proud grandmother of four—or creating websites for the Faculty of Humanities through the Cascade content management system, Nazar continues to enthusiastically integrate new technology and software into her everyday life.

Although she still has a manual typewriter at home—what she mirthfully refers to as a “reminder of the past”—Nazar is living proof that people can adapt and learn new technologies at any age. “It can be a little challenging at first, but it’s very rewarding when you can make a computer work for you. It’s empowering.”

During her time at UVic, Nazar has taken on more than just technological challenges; she is also one of the driving forces behind UVic’s American Sign Language courses.

“Throughout my travels I witnessed American Sign Language being expressed and I was immediately drawn to it,” Nazar explains. “I wondered if courses could be offered at UVic and began researching. I saw it as an opportunity to provide students with sign language skills and an understanding of Deaf culture and community.”

Nazar quickly recognized that in order for her vision to become a reality, she’d need a team. “The contributions and support provided by Drs. Andrew Rippin, Peter Liddell and Sandra Kirkham—and especially my colleague Kristi Falconer—was essential to the project’s success,” says Nazar, emphasizing her heartfelt appreciation.

In 2009 the first credit courses for American Sign Language were offered at UVic—“with full registration numbers as well as full waitlists,” Nazar adds with a well-deserved hint of pride. The courses continue to be offered.

So is retirement in Nazar’s near future? Given her history at UVic, it’s more likely that Nazar will find another workplace challenge, and she’ll tackle it with gusto.

“I’m still curious about learning new skills and understanding different languages and cultures,” says Nazar, “and I’m still very happy to be working at UVic!”