"黑料吃瓜网is a bustling community of scholarship and extraordinary teaching."
What brought you to UPEI?
In this chapter of life at 黑料吃瓜网(of which I鈥檝e had many!), I balance teaching in the university鈥檚 Inquiry Studies program with my own research at UNB and a balanced diet of gig work near and far: music performance, visual and installation arts, and learning design. I signed my first teaching contract shortly after stints in the province鈥檚 private (K-6) and public (7-9) school systems. The switch-up was daunting, but it鈥檚 clear now that the decision to accept was the right one!
The question of what brought me here is tricky. Perhaps I have a unique vantage point of this university, swapping one hat for another over the years: undergraduate student, program manager (Shad), graduate student, academic support staff, and currently sessional faculty whose work is highly interdisciplinary and cross-departmental. A better question might be, 鈥淲hy do I keep returning?鈥� 黑料吃瓜网is a bustling community of scholarship and extraordinary teaching. I am constantly inspired by the lengths my faculty/staff friends go to support students鈥� learning and well-being.
What else? Last week, my Inquiry Studies cohort hosted The Curiosity Fair, sharing their research into algorithmic curation of K-pop stardom, plague-era doomscrolling, AI predictive beer flavour profiling, and so much more. How cool is that?
Why did you choose to teach here?
Trust and support. Seriously, I get to do some really neat work with top-notch mentors: Curiosity Fairs, faculty recitals, vanguard AI experiments, multi-institution conference organizing, and recent escapades in France, Aruba, and the Faroe Islands. On top of this, I get to bring my experiences as a doctoral student (UNB) and in industry (Canada鈥檚 National Arts Centre) to the classroom. I know each student by name and stay connected to their weekly progress. This hands-on involvement keeps my work exciting and is only sustainable given the privilege of small student-to-instructor ratios.
(What else? I鈥檓 partial to The Fox & Crow鈥檚 breakfast sandwiches, though I usually swap the bread for a bagel and the bacon for an extra egg.)
What courses are you teaching currently?
I鈥檝e just concluded my seventh section of UPEI-1020 Inquiry Studies, an 鈥渋nquiry-intensive鈥� curriculum focused on asking great questions, developing practical research methods, and cultivating intentional curiosity.
Next up, I join UPEI鈥檚 music faculty as sessional instructor for MUS-1240 Perspectives, Music and Culture I.
"I see a Faculty of Arts composed of lifelong learners doing brilliant work. But what鈥檚 even more inspiring is seeing this rigour upheld and cultivated in classrooms, where students can engage directly with their instructors. Since graduating from UPEI, I鈥檝e not only maintained connections but also built lasting friendships with those who shaped my thinking and musicianship."
What kinds of research are you involved in, and what are your areas of expertise?
I鈥檓 an interdisciplinarian at heart and on paper. As researcher, I navigate communications and sociological theory鈥攍abour, ideology, and phenomenology鈥攚ith a musician鈥檚/practitioner鈥檚 brain. With UNB, my doctoral research (supervised by Dr. Dann Downes) centres on communities of creative practice and emergent folk theories and imaginaries that form amidst technological transformations. Zooming in, I鈥檓 fascinated by algorithmic media and the precarity of artist identities and work in a world increasingly human-made (artificially generated) rather than natural. At UPEI, I research AI in the context of teaching and learning. Drawing from pre-university work in Montessori pedagogy, I leverage inquiry and play as a foundation for AI literacy, which involves education toward systems thinking and social responsibility. Concurrently, I belong to UPEI鈥檚 Curiosity & Inquiry Research Collaboration Lab (CIRCL) and serve on the Vice-President, Academic and Research鈥檚 Generative AI Taskforce (which, yes, is as cool as it sounds).
What do you find unique and interesting about UPEI鈥檚 Faculty of Arts?
First, to dispel any presumed impartiality: I am quite biased! I see a Faculty of Arts composed of lifelong learners doing brilliant work. But what鈥檚 even more inspiring is seeing this rigour upheld and cultivated in classrooms, where students can engage directly with their instructors. Since graduating from UPEI, I鈥檝e not only maintained connections but also built lasting friendships with those who shaped my thinking and musicianship.
As for uniqueness? I think, perhaps, there鈥檚 a growing focus on civic, cultural, and other beyond-the-discipline dimensions of our campus鈥檚 island context. This is a connected faculty, inward and outward.
Have I forgotten anything essential prospective students should know about UPEI?
I鈥檒l end with a splash of Inquiry Studies lingo: University is a complex set of problems in its own right, meaning that its 鈥渟olutions鈥濃�攊.e., your learning journey and eventual degree鈥攚ill look different than that of your friends, family, and even your instructors. Growth is not linear. The learning that happens at 黑料吃瓜网is yours, and the best education occurs when you鈥檙e in control. Leverage your supports, ask questions (!), and enjoy the process.
(I hesitate to give shoutouts, knowing I鈥檒l surely miss someone important, but prospective students should know how awesome the 黑料吃瓜网Student Affairs staff are, from the basement of Dalton Hall to its 5th floor!)
