A gift for communicating

By Patty Pitts

Anne Correia never made it to the first day of classes at UVic for her master’s English program. Instead, she sat outside on the campus lawn and cried. Newly single after a marriage break-up and back on the Island after living several years in a tiny hamlet in northwest BC, “I was starting over. I thought I was supposed to be married and having kids, not facing classes again.”

Correia did make it back to the classroom to complete her degree, earning respect and praise from her instructors and discovering a talent for editing in the process.

“Her skills are unique,” says English professor and Canada Research Chair in Humanities Computing Ray Siemens of Correia. “She has a real gift for translating between specific academic, theoretical and technical discourse and discourse that appeals to a larger group. Anne especially builds bridges between high theory and what we can do with a computer.”

Siemens taught Correia, a graduate of Nanaimo District Secondary School, when he was a faculty member at Malaspina University-College and she was a part-time undergraduate student in directed studies. He encouraged her to pursue post-graduate work. Correia followed Siemens to UVic, staying two nights a week in town while maintaining a residence in Chemainus. She worked in the Electronic Textual Cultures Lab and her tasks included editing books that assist researchers to harness computing technology to enhance their work.

For Correia, the ability to bridge the technical and academic worlds came naturally. “I’m surrounded by people who didn’t go to university, and it’s important to be able to talk to the people I love about what I’m doing. A lack of vocabulary and a lack of education doesn’t mean a lack of intelligence. It’s important to be able to communicate without resorting to academic or technical jargon.”

Correia says she’s most proud of being able to “take faculty beyond email” and overcome their fear of technology while completing her master’s thesis on Patricia Williams, a woman who broke barriers as a Black female lawyer.

orreia’s undergraduate work focused on Renaissance women who wrote at a time when women were not considered capable of such skills.

Correia sees a link between these women and how she once regarded herself. “I was not expected to excel,” says the newly minted graduate whose ex-husband once told her she lacked ambition. Now in a new relationship with an old friend, Correia continues to work part time decorating for weddings and other special events, a life-long interest.

I’m hoping to continue to edit, which I really like. I feel as if a whole new world is opening up for me.”