Don’t want to commit to just one career path? Being flexible can lead you on some amazing adventures.
On today’s episode, Katy and Emma speak with Mark Leiren-Young who was UVic's second ever double major, in Theatre and Creative Writing and who currently works as a UVic professor in the Writing department, among many other roles.
We chat with Mark about:
- Working in creative fields as diverse as writing award-winning movies The Green Chain and the Hundred-Year-Old Whale
- Hosting the Skaana podcast, where he covers ocean-related environmental issues
- Touring Canada as half of the comedy duo, Local Anxiety
- Teaching classes on the Marvel and DC universes
…and much more!
Resources from this episode
Connect with us
- (00:00) - Music intro
- (00:32) - Welcome and host intros
- (02:18) - All about Mark Leiren-Young
- (03:20) - Stumbling into a journalism job after graduating in the late 80's
- (05:42) - Why it's important to study something you love
- (06:56) - A cornucopia of all the jobs that Mark has done in the arts
- (09:17) - What's the common thread in careers by creative people?
- (11:02) - How Mark started writing tv scripts in the 90's, starting with an episode of The X Files
- (12:22) - How Mark landed the writing gig for the Orca Exhibit at the Royal BC Museum and became "the whale guy"
- (16:05) - How Mark became a podcaster focused on stories about Orcas
- (20:15) - How Mark helps students from all disciplines tap into their creative side in FA 101 "Creative Being"
- (23:43) - Mark's advice on how to translate your passion for the arts into a career you love
- (26:02) - Rapid fire: what's something on campus that's stayed the same since the 80s
- (26:51) - Rapid fire: best place to grab food on campus
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