Metamorphosis

By Bernie Krewski

October 20, 2025, was a momentous day in the life of Patricia Siferd, former resident of Acadia Valley and Oyen. After years of study and research in the Department of Human Ecology, the 279-page document she prepared for her group of examiners (a thesis) was enthusiastically accepted and notably worthy of publication. The result: she will formally receive a PhD degree at the University of Alberta’s Convocation Celebration in March 2026.

Pat at the British Museum

Her achievement is a courageous story of determination, hard work, employment of her intellectual gifts, and a willingness to learn and accept many sources of support. As a former colleague in the School of Business has expressed: “What a significant accomplishment that few will deeply understand!”

After graduating from high school in Oyen, Pat’s initial plan was to continue her formal education at the University of Alberta in 1977. That was short-lived. Her life subsequently followed a much different path.    

A “second chance” occurred in 2006. Not only did Pat grasp an opportunity to attend university once again but extended it to the highest degree awarded by this university. Receiving a PhD fifty years after graduating from high school is an exceptional and remarkable feat!

After taking majors in English and creative writing as an undergraduate, Pat gravitated toward Human Ecology (formerly called “Home Economics).” Its courses are designed to explore interactions between individuals and their environments - addressing issues arising in people’s everyday lives. Majors are offered in Family Science, Clothing & Textiles, and Material Culture (i.e., physical objects, artifacts, and technologies).

Pat’s choice of study complemented her background, taking Home Ec. in grades 7-12 in Oyen’s public and high schools. She subsequently owned and operated a fabric store called “The Yardstick” on Main Street in the late 1970s.  

As a graduate student, these experiences were of great benefit when she became a Teaching Assistant, co-teaching sewing classes with a faculty member. Popular among students and regarded as a “highly respected teacher,” she received a special Teaching Award in 2019.

Then as a Research Assistant in 2018 she travelled to Paris, London (England), and Stuttgart (Germany), studying various 18th century garments to eventually create patterns for the reconstruction of items of clothing.

Her vision of what a potential research project (thesis) entailed changed markedly, however, when she discovered the incredible historic collections in these museums. Examining the clothing of Louis, the ten-year-old son of Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France who died during the French Revolution in 1795, is an example.

Her imagination and foresight in choosing a research project “landed” on Lady Charlotte Schreiber (1812 – 1895), a prominent English aristocrat, accomplished linguist and educator, and a collector of ceramics, fans, games, and playing cards. Pat discovered little had been written about her collection of fans. That became the subject of her study.

It consisted of thousands of hours in the university library and Internet searches. More importantly, in 2022 she spent three weeks at the British Museum in London and the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth taking notes and photos, consulting archivists, and conducting what is known as “primary research.”  

Some readers of this newspaper may think fans are a rather mundane subject to study at a university level. However, fans have a rich history spanning more than 3,000 years, evolving from ancient handheld devices to modern technology. Everyone here will be familiar with the fans of the Lanfine Wind Project!

Pat worked with a team of three professors who advised, coached, encouraged, edited and constantly recommended more readings. Each had their own area of expertise: author and museum experience;  researching healthy living spaces for the elderly, disabled, and those affected by dementia; historian, author of fourteen books, and a recent recipient of the Order of Canada.

They were joined by two “external” examiners for Pat’s “thesis defence.” One is a professor in the Department of Fine Arts whose writings have included studies of museums in Alberta. The other external is a well-published professor of history in the UK who joined the group remotely.

Sadly, Pat’s parents, Don and Ruth Siferd, died in 2021 and 2022. I could imagine the expression on their faces if they were still alive and read or heard the following assessment of Pat’s work.

“This thesis shows evidence of skilled and extremely extensive research, producing a body of work which will form a significant resource for subsequent researchers into this topic. I enjoyed reading it and learned a great deal from it.”

“This thesis is of a very high quality as regards scholarship and scholarly apparatus. The bibliography is exhaustive; I could not suggest anything further as reading than is already covered. The appendices form extremely useful reference lists which will be of use to scholars. The prose and presentation standards are high throughout.”

The people of Oyen and the surrounding community, the  teachers and friends who know Pat can be proud that “one of their own” has achieved this level of accomplishment, especially at this stage of her life.

Transformation! And Pat’s story does not end here!