Canadian University Press Archipelago (74th Annual National Conference)

I got in yesterday to the Canadian University Press' 74th Annual National Conference known as Archipelago (as each member paper is like an island in an archipelago). Anyway it was a long flight in but it has been a great conference so far. I'll be writing more specifically about what I've learned later this week for my report/presentation to the Argosy Editors' meeting on Wednesday but right now I'll provide some information on the presentations I've appreciated/learned the most from so far and the ones I'm most looking forward to tomorrow and Saturday.

So far:

And still to come:

and a professional critique of Argosy.ca by Josh O'Kane, a web editor for the Globe and Mail:

It has been really busy couple of days and I'll be exhausted and I'll have a lot of academic and other work to catch up on when I get back but I think it'll have been worth the time and energy coming out here to meet with hundreds of other people working for student newspapers and to learn from working professionals.

There will be more posts as I process everything over the next few days. Between now and then you can follow me @GeoffatMtA. I'll be mostly @ replying @CUPnash so I don't spam everybody not at the conference so if you want to see everything in your feed you'll have to check my profile or follow CUPnash as well.

Flying back to Canada for the last time (?)

I just finished a bit of self-reflection over the break including writing a narrative about my life. I thought about coming to the US from Canada and not really thinking about going back to live in Canada until I visited Mount Allison and I may not be back to live here for a number of years. Only time will tell.

It's been an interesting experience to have my preconceived notions about what's  best (and even what's acceptable in terms of prices, customer service, competition, the role of government, cultural protectionism, etc) which has led to many spirited debates with friends who agree to continue believing the other is completely wrong.

To give you an extent of the price-gouging I've experienced, witness the frozen pizza for $13.69. That's one of the few things which most people there agreed was over-priced.

But right now I'm not worried about food prices. Due to the joy of scheduled posts, right now I should be on a plane from Boston to Halifax going through Canadian customs one last time.

Today's flight will be the last time I'll be flying 'back' to Canada for the foreseeable future (albeit at that point I can only see to May, after which I'll be attending graduate school in Syracuse (NY), New York City, Boston or Los Angeles). At this point it is up to four separate groups of admissions professionals which of those options I'm able to choose from. That's a bit nerve-wracking but... no it's pretty much entirely anxiety provoking. There is a small sense of relief after submitting the applications.
However, even knowing it's partly a numbers game (and I've got higher than last year's class average for GPA and GRE scores) and partly qualitative analysis (who has the best references, best personal statement, who seems like they'd be a good 'fit') for the school and that there's very little I can do at this point to positively affect their decisions I and millions of others awaiting graduate school decisions won't exhale until we receive that fat envelope (or long e-mail).

Although this upcoming semester will again be incredibly busy (5 courses, 2-3 PT jobs, volunteer work, and hopefully some fraction of a social life) I'm feeling rested and prepared for it. The break has given me ten days off of most the hectic pace of everything this past semester. I was able to catch up on sleep, detox from excess stress and caffeine, and finally finish a book given to me last January.

A week from today I'll be off to represent The Argosy at the 5-day annual conference of the Canadian University Press along with two co-workers. Then I'll be putting what I learned there into practice creating roughly bi-weekly content for the paper, providing input to Mount Allison website redesign project, and (pending the final okays) starting a 3rd social media-related side-project.

For right now thought, I'm probably listening to a song like the one below trying to get some shut-eye on the short trip to Halifax:

It may be a while until I'm able to post again. For now I wish you all the best in the new year.

"Top Ten" Break-Up Songs

Breaking up with someone or being broken-up with is rarely an enjoyable experience. As with most things in life, some good music can come in handy to speed recovery

It was about 20 months ago that I last posted a break-up song list so I figure I should provide an update in case there's anyone out there in need of a musical outlet and hasn't found the hundreds of other lists very helpful (Spoiler: I looked elsewhere first too).

I tried to include balance weepy with more optimistic music and avoided repeating any of the songs from the previous list. I also avoided angry songs but there's always Bens Fold Five, Stroke 9, The All American Rejects, or OK GO if you're feeling a need to be bitter.

Here's ten of my favorites in the order you might listen to them over a few day. What would you change from this list if you had to limit it to ten?

Bright Eyes - A Perfect Sonnet
The Postal Service - The District Sleeps Alone Tonight 
The Rolling Stones- Paint it Black
The Mountain Goats - Woke Up New
Foo Fighters Times Like These
Elliott Smith - I Better Be Quiet Now
Johnny Cash - 'Hurt"
Red Hot Chili Peppers - Scar Tissue
Cat Stevens - Wild World
OK Go - This Too Shall Pass

Welcome to Gryffindor House...err...I mean Mount Allison

So I mentioned earlier, Mount Allison's colours closely resemble those of Gryffindor/Hogwarts and the new scarves only highlight the similarity. Now there's a new poster alluding to Mount Allison's resemblance of a certain fictional school. Small class sizes? Check. Independent learners? Check. Professional Quiddich team? No...not yet anyways...

Edit: Mount Allison University does, in fact have a Quidditch team. Their official, SAC approved Mandate is to "Have a bloody well good time learning and playing the muggle quidditch."


What do you think? Is Mount Allison anything like Hogwarts?

A better orientation

I was just walking downtown from campus (near the corner of Landsdowne and York) and someone drove up and asked me where Convocation Hall was. I pointed right behind his car at the gigantic building with the big letters saying "CONVOCATION HALL" on it in big block letters.

It was a pretty dull interaction in and of itself but it got me thinking of my goals lately and how I've always been close to what I want but I just didn't have the right orientation to find it. Kind of like being on a railroad track that doesn't quite reach the station. You have to just be facing the right way to find what you've been looking for.

Mount Allison's 50th Rhodes Scholar: Rebecca Anne Dixon

I recently received an e-mail from a parent of a prospective parent who was worried by, among other things, rumors she heard that Mount Allison graduates don't perform do well enough to make it to graduate school. I wish I had waited another hour to respond to her:


via mta.ca:

Rebecca Anne Dixon is Mount Allison's 50th Rhodes Scholar
2011-11-28 14:47:18
Mount Allison University is proud to announce that Rebecca Anne Dixon, from Ottawa, ON, is the recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship. Valued at over $100,000, the scholarship is one of the oldest and most prestigious in the world. Dixon is the ninth Mount Allison student in the past 11 years to receive the award, and brings the University’s number of Rhodes Scholars to 50, more per capita than any other institution in Canada.
"This is an incredibly overwhelming, joyous, and humbling experience for me," says Dixon. "The opportunity to study and live in a place as vibrant and intellectually stimulating as Oxford is just thrilling and I am so grateful to all of the people who have supported and encouraged me throughout this experience."
"I am delighted for Rebecca," says President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Robert Campbell. "She is an exceptional student and this is a truly outstanding achievement. I also congratulate our faculty and staff for making Mount Allison an environment where students like Rebecca can flourish in learning, thinking, and understanding our fast-changing world and preparing for a rewarding future.
Dixon came to Mount Allison after spending two years in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Schule Schloss Salem in Ueberlingen, Germany. She plans to study an MPhil in Development Studies at the University of Oxford next fall.
"It's a strong program that offers an excellent grounding in the foundational economic, political, and social topics in development, as well as reviewing the history and internal debates of the discipline."
In her third year at Mount Allison, Dixon was awarded a prestigious Killam Fellowship — a unique exchange program between Canada and the U.S. She spent her semester abroad at American University in Washington, D.C., where she took classes in American Foreign Policy and Sustainable Cities at the University’s School of International Service. She also interned with the South Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies — a think tank based in D.C.
"My studies there were very formative in defining my research interests for my thesis."
At the age of 10 Dixon won a UNESCO award for her work to help children in Ukraine affected by floods. In high school, she travelled to India volunteering in a government public school in Mumbai. For her university honours project, Dixon spent the summer in India researching what platforms exist for public consultation in urban development. More recently, she won a coveted Canada's Famous Five Award for a project to educate children about their rights.
In addition to her studies, Dixon has been involved in many community activities and projects on and off campus including: ATLIS (Atlantic International Studies Organization); the Argosy (Mount Allison’s independent student newspaper); Oxfam Mount Allison; the Cumberland North Academy Mentorship program (reading and literacy volunteer program in a local elementary school); the Mount Allison German Club; MOSAIC (Mount Allison’s international students society); and Global Brigades Mount Allison (an international network that provides communities in developing nations with sustainable health care solutions in Honduras).
"I think the Mount Allison community fosters the skills, experiences, and confidence in students to apply for opportunities such as the Rhodes Scholarship," she says.
Following her time at Oxford, Dixon hopes to work at the logistical level of a development organization abroad. She says she would like to eventually return to Canada to work.
"It has been my professors, friends, and extracurricular activities at Mount Allison that have given me a renewed appreciation of Canada."
Rhodes alumni include Liberal leader Bob Rae, former Premier Danny Williams, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton.

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