The "Genetics" of Love for Teaching, Learning, and Art

Hey there! My name is Maristela Laforest Petrovic-Dzerdz, and I'm an Educational Developer who specializes in course design at the Teaching Excellence and Innovation group of the Teaching and Learning Services at Carleton University.

People always ask me about my name, so here's the scoop: Maristela is my first name, named after my Italian cousin, Laforest is my middle name, named after my dear Granny's French family, Petrovic is my family name, which is Serbian, and Dzerds is my married family name, which is Ukrainian. On top of Serbian and French roots, I also have Greek, Italian, Irish, Scottish, and Welsh genes. And yes, I'm a Canadian through and through!

Teaching runs in my family. My mother, now retired, was a professor at the Pedagogical Academy in Yugoslavia (Europe), and my great-grandparents and cousins were teachers and respected local priests in 19th and 20th Century Europe. Today, I have family members who are professors in both the USA and Europe. Education and lifelong learning are at the heart of my family's philosophy of life. If you check out my ePortfolio, you'll see that I love going to school and learning new things!

Art is a big part of my family's life too. We have photographers, painters, sculptors, actors, singers, and poets in our ranks. I've tried my hand at many artistic pursuits, from acting and singing to drawing and ballroom dancing. I always try to bring my artistic perspective to my work.

Interesting Family Facts

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The Photo Album of Folk Costumes is a project by my great-great-grandfather, Francois (Franz) Thiard de Laforest (1838-1911), a pioneering French photographer born in Vienna. He lived and worked in what is now Montenegro, Croatia, and Bosnia. Growing up and into my young adulthood, his daughter, my beloved "granny Mitzi" (Maria Laforest), had a wonderful influence on me, and I carry "Laforest" as my middle name in her memory.

This branch of my family has distinguished Burgundian roots, tracing back to the beginning of the 16th century in the Thiard de Bissy family.

This is the de Bissy Family Coat of Arms, which I captured in a photo during my 2015 visit with Francois's granddaughter and my dear grand-aunt Lidija Laforest in Croatia. As an ongoing personal project, I'm collecting historical artifacts related to my family and organizing the translation of family history documents dating back many centuries. I'm sure this project will keep me occupied for decades!

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Here's me with a painting of my great-great-grandfather Francois Edouard Serafine Thiard de Laforest and his mother Eleonora Reiber, done in oil on canvas in Vienna in 1841. It's currently on display at the Maritime Museum in Kotor, Montenegro, and was donated by the Laforest family.

According to our family's genealogy books, I'm also related to the House of Obrenovic, the Serbian royal dynasty that came to power under the leadership of Milos Obrenovic, Prince of Serbia. Milos's mother Visnja is my direct ancestor through her daughter Stana.

About Me

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