Natalia Heilke, a 2009 graduate of the University of Victoria's creative writing program, has a diverse array of interests and experience.
In addition to the customary student work experience in the hospitality and service industries, Natalia has worked as a nanny, a youth group coordinator, a secretary, a tour guide and cultural assistant to international students, an actor for online sketch comedy group loadingreadyrun.com, a copy shop clerk and a freelance writer and designer. Some of her most notable projects include:
- writing and doing layout design for a first-year university text on professional practice, utilized by the University of Victoria's Engineering and Mathematics Co-op
- working with Creative English Solutions to write materials for TOEFL textbooks and exams
- helping to organize and run loadingreadyrun.com's annual charity fundraiser, Desert Bus for Hope, which in November of 2009 raised $139,000 for Seattle-based children's charity Child's Play
Natalia is especially interested in writing and design, and has been practicing layout design since her teenage years, before she knew what the practice was properly called. Her university studies included not only her creative writing classes, but courses in French language and literature, English literature and printmaking.
Her many and diverse jobs, her university training, and her interest in seeking out new experiences have provided Natalia with high level organizational and communication skills, as well as the ability to adapt to any working environment. She is acquainted with html and css, familiar with Adobe Creative Suite and experienced with the intricacies of social networking.
Natalia has spent time abroad on several occasions throughout her life and most recently lived for one full year in Paris, France in 2004, caring for three French children and acquiring a lasting appreciation for strong cheeses. In her free time, Natalia enjoys scheming up new and interesting art projects and looking for new ways to fit a large number of books into a small space. Her favourite authors include Barbara Kingsolver and Megan Whalen Turner. Her favourite colour varies, but she always enjoys blues and yellows, and has long believed that brown is an under-appreciated hue.