What is your first U of A memory?
Growing up, everyone in my family played or refereed basketball, so my first memory of the U of A was watching Bears and Pandas games in Main Gym. I still have a Patches plushie from back in the day.
What’s something your coworkers don’t know about you?
I collect a lot of different Green Lantern paraphernalia. I love that this character uses a tool (their ring) that is powered by willpower. I love that there are also multiple Green Lanterns from Earth. Recently they’ve been changing up who has been the Green Lantern, allowing writers to tell more diverse stories. Diversity can save the universe!
What is your favourite distraction?
Easily that would be the Eurovision Song Contest. It's kind of like the ‘sport’ that I follow. I love following the songs and the artists from the national competitions starting in the fall to the international final in May. I enjoy the music, the performances, the production design, the social media and the geopolitics of it all.
If you were enrolling in one course, program or degree right now, what would it be?
I am currently enrolled in a graduate program in educational policy studies specializing in social justice and international studies. Every course has expanded my horizons and the faculty in the program are exemplary educators. I love language learning; I would love to enroll in a Nēhiyawēwin language course!
You can invite anyone — alive or dead, real or fictional — to dinner. Who would it be?
I would love to share a giant Filipino meal with Anthony Bourdain. I love how he talked and wrote about food and I would love to get into some controversial topics with him, foodie topics or otherwise. I loved how much he loved Filipino cuisine; our food gets seriously overlooked.
If you could see any live performance tomorrow, what would it be?
Send me back to 2001 and plop me in some Brooklyn basement and I want to listen to The Strokes.
What advice would you give your 18-year-old self?
Don’t compare yourself to anybody else. You are on your own journey. Especially here at the U of A, you’re going to be surrounded by excellence at all times, but develop your own goals, stay true to your communities and values and be flexible when things inevitably don’t go according to plan.
What’s one thing you can’t live without?
If you asked me this question a year ago, Buff brand multifunctional headgear, like what they wear on Survivor. I’d say a good dot grid journal and some nice pens nowadays. I love journaling and managing myself on paper.
What three words describe your U of A experience?
To, through, beyond.
Do you have any upcoming projects or initiatives you are looking forward to at work?
Working in an office with a broad mandate like EDI, every day looks very different. Some weeks I’m focused on strategy and policy. Others I am helping coordinate networks and supporting events for the community. In the winter, we are releasing the Integrated EDI Action Plan. It has been in development for over a year and sews together perspectives from activists, on-the-ground EDI practitioners, unit and senior leaders, and feedback from the community. I’m very excited about the conversations and commitments this action plan will encourage.