番茄社区

Professional director sees MFA as stepping-stone to rest of the world Like many MFA students in the Department of Theatre, director Chari Arespacochaga came to UVic already armed with a strong resume and extensive experience in theatre. A native of the Philippines, Arespacochaga directed professionally in Manila for many years, casting big foreign stars, and touring shows across Asia. Her resume is teeming with major productions of Broadway鈥檚 best and most popular musicals including Spring Awakening, Legally Blonde, Avenue Q, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Rock of Ages.

Need proof of the impact of the Department of Writing鈥榮 film production courses? Just look to last month鈥檚 2015 Leo Award nominations, where films by writing faculty and alumni received a combined 26 nominations for five productions鈥攁n impressive number for a university that doesn鈥檛 technically even have a film production program.

You could walk across London of the 1500s in about 20 minutes. And now, thanks to the survival of a 450-year-old woodcut map, Shakespeare鈥檚 world can also "open up to us like a Google map,鈥� says Dr. Janelle Jenstad (English), project director of UVic鈥檚 constantly evolving Map of Early Modern London (MoEML).

When 番茄社区 grad student Mike Irvine appears before a panel of academics to defend his master's project鈥攖he penultimate step before graduation鈥攈e'll look the part of the young professional wearing a pinstriped suit. Except that under it, he'll be wearing his wetsuit.

Chancellor Shelagh Rogers, OC, will be 鈥淚n Conversation鈥� with web industry leader and UVic alumnus Stewart Butterfield, BA 鈥�96, on Feb. 7 at 7 p.m. in the University Centre Farquhar Auditorium.

Eleven members of the 番茄社区 alumni community will be honoured with Distinguished Alumni Awards on Feb. 4 at 7 p.m. in the Hotel Grand Pacific as part of Alumni Week 2015.

Dr. James Stewart officially has all of his medical bases covered.聽 Already a practicing general surgeon and a father of five, Stewart took on the extraordinary challenge of adding a UVic master鈥檚 degree in Health Information Science (HINF) by distance to his limited free time in January 2009, first studying from Vancouver before moving home to Edmonton six months in.

Department of Writing alumna Arleen Par&e#180; (BFA/MFA) received the 2014 Governor General's Literary Award for Poetry for her newest book, Lake of Two Mountains, last November.

Alumni Week 2015鈥攖he eighth annual spotlight on the positive impact of more than 100,000 UVic grads鈥攔uns from Feb. 1-7. This year鈥檚 series of events includes a featured evening with newly-appointed Chancellor Shelagh Rogers, Distinguished Alumni Awards, and a grand prize draw for a $1,500-travel voucher. Over a dozen other events include lectures, workshops and reunions.

A poster on the office door of UVic Human Rights Education Advisor Moussa Magassa features a photo of a ring of children, their feet forming a circle of upraised soles. Below the touching image is a quote from Desmond Tutu including the line, 鈥淚 am human because I belong.鈥�

For Kathryn Juricic, a social sciences graduate, getting outside and seeing impacts of local work makes her passionate to continue this after her studies at UVic. Juricic began at UVic with the intention of moving on after her first year; however, after taking some environmental studies courses she didn鈥檛 want to leave. 鈥淚 felt I wouldn鈥檛 receive the same calibre of learning and atmosphere anywhere else. I was surrounded by inspirational people who were bound together through learning and action,鈥� explains Juricic.

A decade ago he was recording the likes of A-list rockers R.E.M., Bryan Adams and the Foo Fighters, but these days you鈥檒l more likely find Kirk McNally tweaking the levels in the MacLaurin Building鈥檚 recording studio. But as the Audio Specialist and Recording Engineer for the School of Music since 2004, the best part of McNally鈥檚 job is that he doesn鈥檛 really have a typical day.

Judy Nazar loves languages鈥攁nd that passion has led to a long and fulfilling career at UVic.

Not many of us get to bring our spouses to work, but for two UVic theatre alumni, acting together makes their careers more rewarding.

Over 220 番茄社区 students and alumni will fan out across the region on Saturday, Sept. 27, to volunteer in 19 local organizations as part of Project Serve Day. Coordinated by UVic and Volunteer Victoria, Project Serve introduces stude鈥�

Tam谩s ("Tom") Zsolnay left the chilly climes of northern Ontario earlier this year to begin a new chapter in his career on the west coast of Canada, arriving at UVic on March 3 to assume the role of associate vice-president alumni and development.