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An Interview with the Success in Graduate School Workshop Leader - Anja Novkovic

June 19, 2018
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By GradProSkills


Anja sitting in a taxi

This week we sat down with Anja Novkovic who is pursuing a Master’s of Science in Geography, Urban and Environmental Studies. Along with being the GradProSkills ‘Success in Graduate School’ workshop facilitator, Anja is a researcher, a writer, and an artist—with experience in performing spoken word poetry and also incorporating cartography and art into her research. She is also deeply intrigued by storytelling as a practice and as a way to make sense of the spaces that we encounter in our day-to-day lives.

Anja jokes that when she was a child she would always ask her parents to tell her bedtime stories about what it was like for them growing up, instead of hearing about the fictional adventures of fairy tale characters. “My main focus of my life has been stories in one capacity or another,” Anja explains, “so my research focus is stories.” As someone who was born in Croatia, moved to Vancouver as a child and then made her way to Montreal, Anja finds herself being deeply interested in how place, space, and movement figure into someone’s life. “I’ve always been really interested in looking at how different parts of the world or even mirco-sites have shaped me or shaped others,” says Anja. “I feel like story ties into that very well. There’s always a location and then a story.”

Research Interests

What is your research about?
Anja: The alleyway behind the J.W. McConnell Building, with the Church on the other side, that’s my research site. I’ve been going into the archives and trying to find historical information about the site, like what it was from the beginning of the 1800s until now. I’ve also been collecting stories and interviewing people to find out what meaning the space has apart from what we assume it has, which is nothing. Then I’m doing a series of illustrated maps to create an intervention in the space, so that’s the art component to it.

I’m interested in meaningful things that have happened in people’s lives within that site, and how it’s shaped their lives outside of the site as well. I’m basically using that kind of personal significance to show that the space is significant. 

 

Working With GradProSkills

Why did you decide to apply for the Success in Graduate School Workshop Leader position?
Anja: I did my undergrad in Social Anthropology when I was in Vancouver. I wanted to move to Europe once I finished my degree and needed a way to survive while I was there. I did my CELTA to teach English to adults then I went to Europe for a year. A lot of challenging things happened and it didn’t work out, so I flew back to Vancouver and started teaching ESL more seriously. When I moved to Montreal I was ready to do a Master’s and I was actually in the Social Anthropology Master’s program, but I hated it. I left the program after a month and went back to teaching ESL and working on artistic projects.

Basically, the teaching has always been there. I found that I really liked the students I was working with. I was focusing on academic preparation so it was always high-level students with quite strong English skills, but I was also interested in working with native speakers as well. We had to do a Three Minute Thesis version of our thesis proposal in my research seminar and when we did it I was giving a lot of feedback to people. A number of people came up to me saying, “You should be a coach for this.” A couple months later, I saw an ad for GradProSkills. I think I wanted to push myself forward in terms of who I was teaching and the subject matter. I also saw a need I could fill and sensed that the position would push me forward in terms of the different audiences I’d be reaching out to

Additionally, when I was a TA in Geography I noticed that a lot of the students had poor grammar and writing skills. Now the Geography department is instilling this program where within the low-level courses, there has to be a number of hours in the tutorials where they focus on writing and presentation skills. I coached the instructors that will be teaching the students about writing and presenting.

What has been your experience being part of GradProSkills?
Anja: I felt very supported, while also having a lot of freedom and flexibility. I sensed a lot of trust from Marie, the Program Administrator, and everyone else. They give you a lot of respect as an employee and it made me want to do a really good job.

The Three Minute Thesis event was the most incredible part of it. I was one of the presentation coaches, though I found myself being more of a motivational/life coach than a presentation coach. Half the time I was asking people, “Why did you choose to do this topic?” or “What in your heart made you do this research?” I wanted to get to the core of what drives them and what makes them passionate. Being a part of 3MT was amazing. I liked seeing people develop, breaking down their walls and getting more honest with themselves. It was great to watch them improve their presentation skills as well. I also really liked working with Racha, the other 3MT coach and GradProSkills staff member. I didn’t know her that well before, but we worked really well together.

Of course, leading the everyday workshops has been really great as well. I’ve pushed myself as an instructor and as a speaker, and also improved my skills in a lot of areas. For instance, I felt like giving the time management workshop improved my own time management so much. Overall, being a part of GradProSkills was really nice because it’s a very positive and warm environment.

 

Going Forward

What are your plans for your academic pursuits and your own personal growth moving forward?
Anja: In the recent years I’ve thought of myself mostly as a facilitator and a storyteller, but I think I’ve thought on a small-scale and now I’m starting to get some bigger ideas on how I can speak to a larger audience. Ive been working on a podcast idea with my research collevtive, and now I’m actually thinking of potentially doing something with television. I guess I see myself developing a lot of ideas and working with the collective. Hopefully, getting some stories out there.

What other organizations at Concordia are you a part of?
Anja: I am part of the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling. I have a project that I started called “The Storied City” which is basically collecting personal stories from public spaces around Montreal. I think what’s important—and what most people don’t do when it comes to places—is go a little deeper. For me, the personal level provides that depth. I want to include that level of personal meaning in how we understand places.

 

Anja ended this interview by discussing how often we only think in meta-narratives. For instance, we don't consider the fact that the space surrounding the Hall Building is where a voluntary army regiment used to train around the time of the American Civil War, or that the McKibbin’s building is where the first woman in Quebec to get a medical degree lived and practiced. “It’s like with alleyways,” she goes on to say, “we think of them as a service place, a space where people go to smoke or use as a shortcut, and there’s often garbage around them, but then you start to dig a little bit deeper and you find something significant.”

 

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