Laura Trethewey is completing a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. Her studies are concentrated in non-fiction, although she has experience in fiction, graphic forms and screenwriting.
Prior to coordinating New Shoots, Laura worked as the Associate Editor of the award-winning quarterly magazine Boulderpavement, published online by The Banff Centre in Alberta. She has also worked as an Assistant Editor for the national indie arts magazine Broken Pencil and as a ghostwriter, freelance writer and fact-checker.
Please contact Laura at newshoots.creativewriting@gmail.com for any questions about the program.
The New Shoots Coordinator takes on the directing role within the program. New Shoots Mentors have varying degrees of experience – some are seasoned, while, for others, New Shoots may be their first teaching experience. The coordinator works to accommodate this spectrum of experience by:
- Accompanying less experienced New Shoots Mentors to their first classes and providing supportive and constructive feedback on their teaching. The coordinator may pair an experienced New Shoots Mentor with a less experienced teacher for peer mentoring.
- Matching New Shoots Mentors with VSB teachers that are able to devote time to their needs as student-teachers.
- Providing lesson planning materials and sample outlines.
- Coordinating workshops for New Shoots Mentors to learn about student-centred teaching, facilitating creative writing workshops, giving constructive feedback etc.
newshoots.ca 