What is your first U of A memory?
I remember walking in on the first day of my new position and my office was in Old Arts/Convocation Hall. It is such a beautiful building, and I knew I was going to be a part of something special. I wasn’t sure where my journey was headed, but I was in the right place to make a difference.
What’s something your coworkers don’t know about you?
That I was homeless for a year when I was in my early 20’s. It was the hardest time of my life, and I was so lost. But I was able to pick myself up piece by piece and go back to university to finish my education. Having this real life experience is what makes me passionate about volunteering with our houseless population. It changed my perspective on the world and how we treat our community’s most vulnerable.
What’s your favourite distraction?
It is most definitely wandering into a new beading store and getting lost in all the possibilities. I have never considered myself a creative person until I learned how to bead in 2021. Now, I see inspiration everywhere and my fingers don’t move fast enough. I also love to organize my beading supplies and feel the story behind the hides, shells, horse hair, porcupine quills, etc. Also the smell of smoked hide takes me to a good place.
If you were enrolling in one course, program or degree right now, what would it be?
We have so many interesting courses on campus but I would love to take my Masters in Native Studies. I had been disconnected from my Indigenous culture growing up that it has been an awakening for myself in the past 15 years. Reconnecting with my culture, ceremonies, elders teachings and language. To take my passion and develop it into a Master’s thesis has been a dream of mine.
You can invite anyone — alive or dead, real or fictional — to dinner. Who would it be?
Chief Poundmaker (Pītikwahanapiwīyin). He was one of the greatest leaders of the Cree people and was a peacemaker. He strove to protect the interest of the Cree during the negotiation of Treaty 6 and joined the 1885 Riel Rebellion at Batoche. He surrendered, was convicted of treason and sentenced to Stony Mountain Penitentiary. To listen and learn from this great man would be inspiring and humbling at the same time.
If you could see any live performance tomorrow, what would it be?
It would be either Yo-Yo Ma or Luciano Pavarotti. Both of these men convey such passion in their instruments (cello and vocal) that you can not help but feel the music in your soul.
What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?
To just breathe. Take a moment to take it all in, the good and the bad, because each of these moments will shape who you become. So enjoy and be mindful of what you go through. And don’t give your advice unless asked! Most times, people just want you to listen instead of problem solving for them.
What’s one thing you can’t live without?
Books! I never was enticed by kobos or other e-readers so give me a good, fat novel to dig into, and I am happy. I grew up as an only child for 12 years and books were a place for me to get lost for hours at a time. Even now, I always pack books with me for every trip I go on, and every Saturday and Sunday morning, I spend some time with my coffee and a novel.
What three words describe your U of A experience?
Inspiring, challenging and rewarding.
Do you have any upcoming projects or initiatives you are looking forward to at work?
I am involved in quite a few interesting projects with the College of Natural and Applied Sciences (CNAS) but the one that is becoming a passion project is the development of an Indigenous Medicine Garden next spring in the Stuart David Plaza, located between the Centennial Centre for Interdisciplinary Science (CCIS) and the Biological Sciences building on North Campus. It will be a space where Indigenous students will be able to harvest medicines, faculty will be able to use the garden as a teaching tool in conjunction with Elder teachings and it is about reclaiming some of the colonized space on campus and returning it to its traditional use. I am so excited to develop this garden, with direction from our Elders, for our Indigenous community on campus.
