Writers
Samantha Beattie:
One of SPARK’s senior writers, video coordinator Samantha Beattie, is in her final semester of her degree in International Development. Through working at SPARK Samantha knows one thing for sure: she's set on being a journalist. After she graduates, she'll be making her mark by doing her masters in journalism or perhaps starting a freelance career. In the meantime, she'll continue creating agricultural videos and co-coordinating the next issue of the Research Magazine.
Erin Calhoun
Erin is a fourth year Equine Management student from North Bay, Ontario and is responsible for updating SPARK’s social media feeds. She enjoys frequenting the gym, cooking (and therefore eating) and keeping her nose in a book.
Megan Cowie
Long before Megan Cowie joined the SPARK Squad she dreamed of becoming an astronaut. She wanted to collect every balloon that had accidentally floated to outer space so that she could return them on Earth. She has since adjusted her dreams slightly and is now a first-year Nanoscience student. She loves writing songs for her swimming students and stargazing, and she recently took up playing the ukulele.
Katy Jonker
Taking the journalism industry by surprise, Katy Jonker, a third-year Marketing Management (Co-Op) student, enjoys communicating complex language in an understandable and interactive fashion. With an uplifting attitude and fiery drive, Katy is also passionate about videography and social media. When not at SPARK, she can be spotted learning a new song on guitar or snowboarding.
Anthony Ngai
Anthony Ngai is an accounting major with a deep passion for food and agriculture. Anthony comes to work suspiciously happy every single day and is readily available for discussion of a vast array of subjects and topics. He enjoys the company of friends, good food and spirited discussions about music.
Maggie Robertson
Kawartha Lakes native Maggie Robertson is a fourth-year Agriculture student with a flair for small ruminants. When not recalling the adventures and mishaps of her time at the goat farm, Maggie brings an enthusiastic element of high-pitched hilarity to even the most mundane of journalistic tasks. She's particularly interested in stories related to animal welfare, and the potential for new agricultural markets.
Andrea Seccafien
Guelph native Andrea Seccafien is in her final year in International Development with an emphasis in Political Economy and Administrative Change. She’ll take on stories about anything, but particularly enjoys talking to political science and humanities professors about their research. Away from SPARK she is making her mark on the Canadian distance running scene.
Katharine Tuerke
When she’s not in the lab looking through microscopes, Katharine Tuerke can be found on the other side of the lens – a camera lens that is. This neuroscience doctoral candidate daredevil is willing to go on a ledge to capture the perfect picture. She joined SPARK to share her enthusiasm for research and discovery with you and hopes to become a science journalist when she graduates. Outside of creating and communicating science, she enjoys spending time with her puppy at the cottage.
