Competency-based Portfolio
Melissa Tardif – T00018271
Cover Letter
Melissa Tardif
5576 Swallow Dr
Port Alberni, BC V9Y 7H1
July 16, 2025
PLAR Department
BC Centre for Open Learning, 4th Floor
805 TRU Way
Kamloops, BC V2C 0C8
Attention: Susan Forseille, PLAR Director, and PLAR Assessors
I’m excited to submit my Competency-Based Portfolio for the Bachelor of General Studies. Over the past two decades, I’ve followed a self-directed path of continuous learning – redesigning municipal processes to better serve the public, launching and managing my own business, leading in emergency response situations, and mentoring everyone from casual city staff to Pride volunteers. I’ve always been someone who steps up, figures things out, and then builds systems others can use and improve upon.
Why PLAR? Because I’ve already completed the learning – through thousands of hours restoring and flipping vehicles from auction, designing immersive escape room experiences, managing major home renovations, developing architectural renderings in BIM software, and completing over 150 courses and certifications to sharpen my technical and interpersonal skills. This process allows me to translate that wide-ranging, hands-on learning into academic credit so I can complete my degree and move forward with my next goal: certification with the Planning Institute of British Columbia and a career helping shape inclusive, forward-thinking communities.
Highlights of the learning you’ll see evidenced in this portfolio include:
- Public administration and policy implementation – creating the Property Search Request process that reduced FOI wait times from weeks to days and streamlining development intake procedures for homeowners and builders.
- Entrepreneurship and financial management – operating Platinum Pro Services for over a decade, managing everything from branding and payroll to COVID-era health policy creation.
- Leadership and mentorship – training new and temporary municipal staff, guiding volunteer crews through Nanaimo Pride’s first parade, and creating a supportive 400-member LGBTQ+ online community.
- Problem-solving and technical skills – building internal tracking tools, designing escape room storylines with integrated electronics, completing architectural layouts, and managing complex home construction and renovation projects from concept to finish.
- Lifelong personal management – parenting a now-independent daughter while balancing home ownership, gig work, education, community involvement, and financial independence.
These experiences directly support TRU’s eight critical competencies and are backed by over 30 curated pieces of evidence in this portfolio.
Accordingly, I respectfully request assessment for 51 lower-level and 15 upper-level Applied Studies (APST) credits. Gaining recognition for this learning will allow me to focus my remaining coursework on advanced studies in planning, bringing me closer to a career where I can make meaningful contributions to resilient, sustainable communities.
Thank you for taking the time to assess this portfolio and for valuing diverse, lived learning pathways. I look forward to the next steps.
Warm regards,
Melissa Tardif
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