After Hours

NATALIE GIESBRECHT

Distance education production manager, U of G staff member since 2002

A recent apartment flood put the ball in motion for Natalie Giesbrecht and her husband, Petir, to move. “It was likely time for us to take the step into a bigger place, but the flood was a definite sign for us to get going,” she says. “We're really excited about it, though.”

As a result, much of Giesbrecht's spare time will be devoted to packing and unpacking boxes and creating a much-wanted studio space in the couple's new pad that will be used for graphic design and other artistic endeavours, including scrapbooking and photography.

“If we had more space, we'd have a darkroom down there as well,” she says.

Giesbrecht is approaching her first wedding anniversary and is looking forward to organizing and designing pages to scrapbook and archive her wedding day.

“We were married in the Caribbean, and it was such a beautiful time with our friends and family.”

She's also looking forward to shooting more photos on day trips this summer. Niagara-on-the-Lake, Tobermory and downtown Toronto are a few of the spots on her agenda. She's especially looking forward to Toronto's Caribana Festival.

“I went last year for the first time, and the culture and costumes were amazing and the food smelled so great. There are so many fabulous images to capture there.”

DARREN WOOD

Faculty member in the Department of Pathobiology since 2002

One of Prof. Darren Wood's favourite things to do is watch NASCAR racing. “My family is all really into it,” he says.

His wife, Chantelle, grew up with stock car racing in Prince Edward Island as the daughter of a driver, and Wood says he got interested in racing when they started dating.

Their sons Gavin, 6, and Elijah, 4, have their rooms decorated on a NASCAR theme and know every driver, their car numbers and their sponsors, says Wood. One-year-old Mitchell is soon to catch up.

There's a divide in the family when it comes to racing, however. “We're split in terms of our favourite driver,” says Wood. “Elijah and I love Jeff Gordon, and my wife and Gavin root for Dale Earnhardt Jr. We're waiting on Mitchell to break up the balance.”

Wood is even part of a fantasy NASCAR pool in which participants pick the names of the drivers they believe will do best this season and earn points according to how those drivers perform in competition. This year's pool has 35 people in it, and although Wood ranked third overall last year, this year isn't looking nearly as good for him so far. “Unfortunately, my mother-in-law is actually the pool leader right now.”

In August, Wood will travel to Indianapolis to attend the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.

KATHRYN O'CONNOR

Second-year student in hotel and food administration

Kathryn O'Connor didn't waste any time getting involved at Guelph after she started studying here.

“I'm on campus for more than 40 hours a week, so I can't imagine not making the most of my time here,” she says. “I want to make university more than just about school.”

In addition to being a peer helper at the Connection Desk, O'Connor volunteers as a START online group leader, a note taker for the Centre for Students With Disabilities and a babysitter for the Student-Parent Club.

“I take care of a two-year-old girl while her mom is in class or catching up on work in the library. I started doing it in September because I thought it would be a really nice way to help out another student.”

O'Connor also participated in the Admission Services Telethon, a program that puts current students in touch with high school students who have applied to U of G in a particular program.

“We answer any questions they have and also invite them to come to the annual Campus Days event to see the school first-hand.” At this year's Campus Days, she served as a tour guide.

O'Connor is also involved in helping out with Orientation Week 2006, although she won't be on campus in September to see the week of festivities take place. “I'm spending the fall semester at the Australian International Hotel School in Canberra. It should be a lot of fun.”