Alexis
Hi there! I’m Alexis (she/her), a second year illustration student born and raised in Vancouver, BC.
My favourite mediums are drawing and painting, but I have recently delved into sculpture and digital work using Procreate. I hope to one day integrate text into accompanying my illustrations. I love all things that allow me to relive and document my experiences, from photography, to curating playlists to match every one of my moods. This can also be applied to my writing!
I think that speaking thoughts and feelings can feel daunting, but writing has always been a safe space for me to express myself honestly, and articulate what I want to say in a “fancier” manner.
Working at the Writing Centre combines two things I am extremely passionate about: talking and connecting with others, and of course writing! Think of discussing ideas with me as you would a friend, I want to have free flowing, open ended conversations with you to make some clarity of your work, and to hopefully relieve the anxiety that I and many other writers may have (just tendencies of an overthinker I guess!)
See you at the Writing Centre ♡
Tenaya
Hello!! My name is Tenaya (she/her) I’m a third-year industrial design student and creative writer. I am a maker that communicates through whatever medium necessary. I often draw in ink or digitally, I write, I like experimenting with making biomaterials, and sometimes I acrylic paint! In my spare time I like to do yoga, go for a walk in the forest, observe how the everyday is innately surreal, and bake vegan goods!
I believe art and design should be accessible for all and I hope to create a community-building practice. School can often feel overwhelming and having a friendly face to talk to about your writing can help relieve some of the stress. I hope to create a calm and fun space to talk about your writing, at any stage or genre, and ensure you feel supported!
I am also the On Edge Reading Series event assistant so if you’re interested in listening to some really good poetry readings let me know!
Joanna
Heyo, I’m Joanna (she/her)! I’m a 2nd year Visual Arts student who works in a wide range of interdisciplinary mediums (which a fancier way of saying I couldn’t make up my mind as to what medium I wanted to be my “main one” so I’m trying to embrace it all), like photography, digital illustration, animation, sculpture, mixed media, and poetry.
If you’re anything like me, sometimes you just need someone there so you can get yourself to keep working on your writing. And I am more than happy to be that person to help you with anything from polishing up academic papers to brainstorming creative worldbuilding (yes, I do play ttrpgs), to workshopping storyboards!
I love cats, gardening, and rain. So I guess if you ever see me in a garden, with a cat, in the rain, come join me!
Anoushka
I’m Anoushka and I use she/her pronouns. I’m majoring in Interaction Design and I’m so happy to get the chance to meet all of you!
My writing journey began when I was 11 and I found myself expressing my thoughts better through writing than talking. Since I’m from India, I’ve been raised to be fluent in both English and Hindi. Writing proved to be an anchor for me in both languages, helping me process information, whether it be academic or personal!
I know we’ll meet each other, not just as writers, but also as students and members of an educational community. So I can’t wait to meet you and explore that balance between our creative passion and our academic interests!!
Cherry
Hi friends, I’m Cherry (like the fruit)! I use she / her pronouns and I’m currently a 3D animation student at Emily Carr. I love cartoons, sweets, and anything in pastel colors!
I was born in Taiwan, and lived in China for a few years before coming to Canada. So in addition to English, I know both Traditional and Simplified Mandarin, as well as a tiny bit of basic Japanese too. Learning languages has definitely been a big part of my adventure in Canada — especially through writing. I always love to think of words as a fun medium to share all kinds of stories and to connect with one another. Though big essays and long reports can definitely be stressful, I have experience in academic writing to help you out! I also enjoy creative writing, my favorite things to write are definitely birthday cards and letters 🙂
I’d love to get to know you! Feel free to come chat with me (and tell me about your birthday so I can make you a card) I’ll try to be your best cheerleader on your very own writing journey!
Weijin
Hello everyone! My name is Weijin (she/her) and I am currently a 4th year Interaction Design student minoring in Social Practice and Community Engagement.
I’m happy to help with academic writing, creative writing, or design-related writing (things like process books, case studies, and portfolios). I definitely know how it feels to get stuck, not know how to translate a concept into words, or get completely lost in MLA citations and I’m here to help! No matter what stage your writing is in, I’m always delighted to discuss ideas and learn something new along the way 🙂
Between classes I really enjoy reading and writing creative nonfiction and poetry! I’m also very interested in printmaking, textiles, collage, and making bad fridge magnet poems!
Elijah
Greetings! My name is Elijah (he/him) and I’m a 3rd year Illustration major. I’m originally from the United States, currently living in Vancouver on the unceded and ancestral territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh people. I feel really lucky to be able to study at Emily Carr among such a thoughtful and creative group of people.
In my spare time I like to journal, write poetry, create characters, and worldbuild. Primarily my writing practice concerns story-telling, mythography, and interactive fiction. I’m a *huge* fan of role-playing games. Some of my favorite games include The Elder Scrolls, Dragon Age, Pathologic, Dishonored, and Disco Elysium. I’m an experienced dungeon master as well! I believe any piece of writing can be made to tell an interesting story, and I’m really invested in getting people excited about writing and celebrating a passion for the written word.
I’m able to assist with both academic and creative writing — as well as any melding of the two!
Even just talking about writing is one of my favorite things to do, and I’m really looking forward
to the future.
Thiseni
Hello! My name is Thiseni (“th” as the “th” in thin, “iseni” as “ee-say-knee”) and I use she/her pronouns. I’m currently a 3rd-year Visual Arts major with a minor in Curatorial Studies.
I moved here when I was 10 years old, which has allowed me to be fluent in Sinhala in addition to English. It’s been a gnarly journey adjusting to two languages (I’m still not entirely comfortable with either), and I feel for anyone who has had similar experiences!
I write in both the academic and creative realms and have had the wonderful opportunity to have works published in the Bloom Zine Collective as well as the WITHINTENSIONS magazine!
I am grateful to be allowed to be a part of other people’s writing process! I love chatting about ideas and being a sounding board. It’s wonderful to be able to witness concepts be fleshed out and come to life on the screen with the ever-so debilitating cursor, or on paper now that we have face-to-face appointments!
I look forward to working together and hopefully making the sometimes-overwhelming process of writing a bit less scary!
Zoë
Aniin, Hello! My name is Zoë and I am a first year MFA student. I also have my BFA and minor in Social Practice and Community Engagement from ECUAD. I’m Anishinaabe Metis and I was born and raised in so-called Calgary AB, moving to so-called Vancouver in 2019. My art and research and writing has been focused in community, culture, and place-based practices involving water, energy, the interdimensional and the rejection of linear time in favour of cyclical, layered existences. I deeply value my connection to the land and territory I’m on while honouring traditional knowledge as well.
BUT! Enough about that! I love weird movies and animation and the paranormal! Text in/as art and graphic novels, as well as how language is used in “non-traditional” ways is super interesting to me as well.
I enjoy reading poetry and science fiction, and I ESPECIALLY ENJOY helping people find and develop their voices and build confidence in their writing and formulating ideas. I take pride in advocacy and finding what works best for us while we navigate academia and this wild time.**
Aretha
Hi there! My name is Aretha (she/her) and I’m a fourth year student in Illustration. I’m originally from Goa and Pune in India, but I grew up between Oman, Kuwait, Kenya, and the UAE. Some things I like are relief printmaking, longboarding, ice cream, playing pianos, maps, and the band clipping.
Writing is how I’ve thought about and processed everything for years – I’m a big fan of the personal essay, all forms of creative nonfiction, and journaling. I also enjoy poetry for its automacy in documenting my very immediate and fleeting feelings. And though I don’t often write in these genres, I spend a lot of time reading fantasy, science-fiction, magical realism, contemporary fiction, most YA, and children’s books about solving mysteries (I grew up on the Famous Five and the 39 Clues series’)!
I’m also the international peer mentor at the Writing Center, which means I’m a resource for any questions or concerns international students may have about classes, campus, Vancouver, etc. If you want to chat, ask me any questions, or talk about events/programming you want to see for international students, you can email me at ispmentor@ecuad.ca.
I’m looking forward to working together and helping build any of your writing assignments and projects 🙂
Cecily Nicholson
Cecily Nicholson is the author of four books, and past recipient of the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize, and the Governor General’s Literary Award for poetry. She has held the Ellen and Warren Tallman Writer in Residence at Simon Fraser University, and Writer in Residence at the University of Windsor. She teaches at Emily Carr University of Art + Design and collaborates with community impacted by carcerality and food insecurity. Her most recent book, HARROWINGS, ponders rural and black experience. In April, Nicholson presents the First Annual Phyllis Webb Memorial Reading at SFU.
Mercedes Eng
Mercedes Eng teaches and writes in Vancouver, on unceded Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh territories. She is the author of Mercenary English, a poem about sex work, violence, and resistance in Downtown Eastside Vancouver, Prison Industrial Complex Explodes, winner of the Dorothy Livesay Poetry Prize, and my yt mama, which documents a childhood under white supremacy in Canadian prairies. Her writing has appeared on the sides of the Burrard and Granville Bridges as contributions to public art projects, and in the Lambda-nominated anthology Hustling Verse: An Anthology of Sex Workers’ Poetry, Jacket 2, Asian American Literary Review, The Abolitionist, r/ally (No One Is Illegal), and Survaillance and M’aidez (Press Release).Sandy
Sandy (she/her) has supported the Writing Centre team since Fall 2018. She has a BFA in Media Arts & Digital Technology from Alberta College of Art + Design (now Alberta University of the Arts), level 9 Royal Conservatory of Music piano certification, and used to play drums in a band a long time ago. She loves playing games, especially Splatoon and all titles by FromSoftware.
She appreciates the opportunity to work with the many kind and funny people who make up the team each semester, and to watch students be helped and grow in their writing journey.
Bonus Fun Fact: She can solve a 3×3 Rubik’s Cube in about two minutes.
Sara
Hi! My name is Sara and I’ve just returned to live, work, and play on the unceded, traditional and ancestral xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), and səl̓ilw̓ətaʔɬ(Tsleil-Waututh) territories as the new Learning Specialist.
After attending Emily Carr as an undergraduate (where you were most likely to find me in the ceramics studio), I studied East Asian art history at the University of Toronto. There, as a graduate student, I researched and wrote on the Second Sino-Japanese war’s effects on contemporary art, mostly centred around the imaginary Cyborg. I read and speak Japanese, and have spent several years studying Mandarin but mostly for reading.
During covid, my project has been to knit and send people I can’t visit with cowls (like circular scarves). So far I’ve done about 20, and I’ve really enjoyed the process of meditating on friendships and past memories and moments as I stitch. I’m looking forward to meeting you, and hearing your story at Emily Carr, as a student, writer, thinker, and maker.
Heather
Heather Fitzgerald is the Coordinator of the Writing Centre and a Senior Advisor, Teaching and Learning at ECUAD. She has been teaching academic writing for the past fifteen years, at both Emily Carr and the University of Toronto, and has a Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages through Woodsworth College (UToronto). Previously, she worked for six years as a lexicographer on the Canadian Oxford Dictionary project with Oxford University Press. And even before that (because she is old) she worked for many years as a copywriter for marketing and advertising companies in Calgary, Toronto and New York, writing many many words that very few people read!
Jacqueline
Jacqueline Turner is the author of five books, most recently Flourish (ECW Press, 2019) and a Writing Specialist focusing on Foundation and Grad students. She is the developer of the WRTG curriculum and Co-coordinator of the Writing Centre. Her recent writing-related research investigates the role of generous curiosity in creating conditions for collaboration. She is a co-researcher in a SSHRC-funded project exploring the potential of critical literacies and pedagogy-as-gift in post-secondary learning environments. She has held writing residencies in Brisbane, Tasmania, Granada, and Berlin. Over the years she was a founding member of filling Station magazine, on the collective of the Kootenay School of Writing, co-curated an early webzine with Meredith Quartermain called The News, and is still part of a group that runs the On Edge Reading Series at Emily Carr.