I live in a small town in central BC with my husband and my dogs. I love to get outside whether that is hiking, kayaking, taking the dogs for a walk, or spey fishing for steelhead. I have had the privilege to complete several backpacking trips from the historic gold rush Chilkoot trail in the north, the Brazeau Loop, to the West Coast Trail and many in between. I have also made the trip around the Bowron Lakes circuit a couple times and fully intend to go back.
When I am not escaping to the bush I am working as a Literary Intern, bookkeeper, social media advertising, and working on my own creative writing projects. I love learning about the publishing industry and the intricacies that work within it. I love working with agencies and being able to see the publishing world from their perspective. As might be assumed by now I am an avid bookworm and I am always working on building up my own collection. Some of my favourites include Suzanne by Anais Barbeau-Lavelette translated by Rhonda Mullins, Ru by Kim Thuy, The Vegetarian by Han Kang, and I could go on.
Over the weekend I was able to tune into some of the convocation ceremonies, and I found them to be inspiring. I watched as students, who overcame many obstacles, triumphantly walk across the stage to accept their parchment. I saw the pride in their eyes and their smiles; pride from the audience as the occasional… Read more »
The last few months were extremely busy with courses. I got a lot accomplished in a short(ish) amount of time, however, this has the side-effect of leaving me burnt out. It leaves me wondering if it is worthwhile to go at that pace and then struggle for a couple weeks to motivate myself again. This… Read more »
I have heard stories about course reviews, reviews that used to exist on the Athabasca University Student Union (AUSU) website. I have been a student at Athabasca University (AU) since 2012; I have only ever heard about these mythical reviews through whispers in dark corners of the forums. What happened to these reviews? Anytime I… Read more »
I watched a TED Talks video, Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are by Amy Cuddy, which spoke about feeling like you don’t belong somewhere. When I started Athabasca University I did not know how I would fare. I didn’t feel like I belonged, or knew what I was doing. So, for some reason this… Read more »
Education is an emotional roller coaster. A successful assignment can send spirits soaring, while a poor assignment can plummet us into a hell of self-doubt. When I am enjoying the success of my efforts the feeling can’t be beat. My confidence soars and I feel validated. I believe I am where I am supposed to… Read more »
I have seen mentioned a few times on Athabasca University social pages questions about preference to writing longhand versus typing. Typically I think the preference lies in generation: what did you grow up doing? More recently, the question came up regarding paper and online exams. There seems to be some consensus for math exams to… Read more »
If there is one thing students tend to agree on it is a dislike for exams. Some students experience exam stress and anxiety. When I started with AU, I recall going in to take my first exam: English 211. When I’d had to prepare for exams before it was pretty straightforward; there were either facts… Read more »
When I made the decision to go back to school the majority of my high-school grad class had already graduated from university. Some had completed their graduate studies, and had moved onto jobs in their respective fields post-graduation. The ones that chose not to pursue education were finding their way up their personal career ladders… Read more »
With the recent news about the Athabasca Unviversity Students’ Union and The Voice Magazine, I have found myself a bit lost. Politics is something I do not excel at. I tend to believe what I am told; I believe that when someone says that they have my best interest at heart, they do. I still… Read more »
Going to school to write, if you believe what is readily available on social media, is a complete and utter waste of time and resources. As I have been working through my courses I have found it comforting to find that a majority of the authors I am studying went to school to write, or… Read more »