[img_inline align=”right” src=”http://padnws01.mcmaster.ca/images/valley_myra_oxford.jpg” caption=”Myra Valley at St. Hugh’s College, Oxford, where she presented at the BSECS conference.”]It's not unusual to hear about a McMaster University professor being asked to speak at a prestigious British university, but Myra Valley is not a professor.

Valley, who works in the Academic Programs Office of the DeGroote School of Business, completed a master's in history in 2008. At the suggestion of her then thesis advisor, now Professor Emeritus James Alsop, Valley applied to speak at the 38th annual British Society for Eighteenth Century Studies (BSECS) conference, held at St. Hugh's College, Oxford in early January 2009. The BSECS session is Europe's largest annual conference dealing with all aspects of the history, literature, and culture of the eighteenth century.

As an independent scholar, Valley did not expect to be chosen to present, but much to her “delight and terror” the BSECS organizers accepted her piece titled “Plague in Absentia,” a study of fear of the plague in 18th century England.

“The history of Oxford, particularly how it was the foundation for universities in Great Britain, and the presence of scholars and historians from literally every corner of the world was intimidating,” said Valley. “Although I was terrified at first, I would do it again in an instant.”

Though she does not have a background in history, Valley was able to earn her master's degree with the guidance of her professor and mentor, Alsop. A specialist in early modern England, Alsop was very helpful in guiding Valley from writing the paper to developing her conference proposal to presenting.

In the end, the experience of speaking at Oxford piqued Valley's interest in pursuing a British research PhD, unsurprising given that Valley has not only completed a master's in history “just for fun” but also an MBA and a master's in social work.

Lifelong learning is something Valley values and believes in. “The skills you learn, like critical thinking, research methodology, analysis and interpretation keep you open-minded and interested.”