Art may go way over your head, but for one of UVic’s coolest teaching assistant’s, its what keeps the world colourful. From helping students survive semesters in their classes, to donating time to local art galleries, Jenelle Pasiechnik’s love of all things art have crossed-over and joined with her desire to teach others, making her this week’s UVic’s Campus Celebrity.
Jenelle is from Calgary, having earned her first degree in English Literature at the University of Calgary, and then set her eyes on the far West Coast, where she enrolled at UVic and earned a second degree in art history, focusing on Islamic art. Now in her second year of her masters program of art history, Jenelle has taken the chance to assist teachers in her faculty. This semester she is the TA for Mitch Parry’s Intro to Film Studies class, HA295B, as well as the part-time graduate student orientation coordinator, a position that she maintains part-time throughout the school year, and full-time in the summer. Jenelle is also the Margaret Russell Graduate Intern, where she is doing a curatorial project for the Legacy Art Galleries in downtown Victoria, as well as doing research in the library archives on the artist Glenn Howarth, and his impact on art culture in Victoria. After her master’s degree is done, Jenelle hopes to take advantage of the network of contacts she has made within the art community in Victoria, finding opportunities in that field. After that, she hopes to do a Phd application.
School and work aren’t the only things that keep Jenelle busy, though. She enjoys being outdoors, being around horses (she used to show jump them as a kid!) and volunteering at the art gallery. Her passion of teaching is not lost outside the classroom; Jenelle loves to discuss and teach others about art whenever given the chance. When she’s not in the gallery, however, she likes to cook up a storm in the kitchen, hike, swim and do some camping. Nature is art, too!
When it comes to what she’s learned so far, Jenelle says that “if you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, it’s hard to keep going, but passion is what will make you get out of bed in the morning.” She would “rather live for quality, rather than quantity” and hopes that her efforts someday make a difference and an impact on the world.