My background is a bit unconventional: I have a PhD in English Literature from UBC (2012), and 20+ years behind me in the corporate world. I have been a lecturer at SFU and UBC, presented at academic conferences across North America and the UK, and published a book with Palgrave Macmillan in 2014. Between 2011 and 2013, I balanced teaching first year university and completing my book manuscript with a full time market research position at Teekay Shipping. An exhilarating and exhausting time of switching focus between academic and corporate effort, the publication of my book marked an inflection point in my career. After interviewing with a number of well-known universities in the pursuit of an academic career, it became clear that my best outputs come from working at the limits of my knowledge and capability. The love of learning and the life of the mind that I knew as a PhD student would have to be traded in for a life of administration, teaching, and sometimes squeezing in research if I were to become a professor. So I opted out and turned to the private sector. I don't regret it.
I've been fortunate that my corporate work continues to include writing and creating content, researching, and critically engaging with complex ideas and concepts. My work in business has given me space to explore new and different genres of writing, from quarterly / monthly market reports, investor pitches, and board memos to industry-related research papers, and marketing content creation. The topic of study has changed from my academic days, but the challenge of subject matter mastery, content creation, and editorial work has continued. I have travelled through Europe, Asia, and the US for my work, and I've met people I never would have had I not left academia. I'm fortunate for this experience, and I know it has made me a better person.
I'm driven by ambition, the positive dynamic of a strong team, and the opportunity to learn. It doesn't matter if it's writing a book, teaching myself how to produce music, or navigating the business world - the sweet spot for me is meeting challenges head on and seeing where they take me. So far, I love where I've been. The question is, where next?