Masthead
Sean is a fifth-year English and Creative Writing student and is by all accounts a great guy. He spends his time working for the VIU Students' Union, watching painfully slow movies, absolutely shredding his guitar, or illegally streaming tennis matches. Now in his second year at The Nav, he's fully realizing the heart in the community he's found himself in.
Lauryn is a fourth-year Digital Media Studies student. She has had her work featured in the Powell River Peak, Portal Magazine, and The Discourse. When she’s not looking up fun facts about bees, she’s probably fantasying about Portland, Oregon.
Ashley is a fourth-year Creative Writing student at VIU. She was an editor for Portal Magazine for two years before joining The Nav team. Mental health representation is something she is incredibly passionate about, as well as working to remove the negative stigma surrounding mental illness. When she’s not busy obsessing over comma placements, Ashley can be found horseback riding, watching cute animal videos, and providing comedic relief wherever possible.
Sophia Wasylinko is a third-year Creative Writing and Journalism student. She was the Entertainment Reporter for CHLY 101.7FM in winter 2020. Her favorite things in life are cats, the color purple, coffee, and books (mysteries or books about ghosts, murder, and crime in general). Sophia is excited to be back in Nanaimo and hopes to explore more of Vancouver Island this year.
Isabella Ranallo is a third-year Creative Writing student at VIU. She's loved storytelling ever since she stole a sheet of her mother's office paper at age four to write the first page of a story about ten kids stranded on a desert island. Her short story, "The Journal," was published in VIRL and Rebel Mountain Press' In Our Own Teen Voice 2019. These days, she spends her free time scribbling away in Moleskine notebooks or searching for cat-inspired stationery.
Ella Ostrikoff is a Business student specializing in Marketing. For the last few years, she has been working at a video marketing company as a marketing assistant and commercial videographer. She spends her free time fully appreciating the “island life,” either hiking, surfing, kayaking, or skiing. Her adventure buddy is her camera; however, she dreams for the day when a black lab can join her. In the dog-less meantime, she’s also a crypto, bubble tea, and F1 enthusiast.
Jenna Cronshaw is a videographer from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is in her third year as a Digital Media and Sociology student. Jenna dabbles in documentary style film photography in her free time, and her love for coffee is so strong that when she's not doing school work or filming for The Nav, she's working at a local coffee roastery.
Malcolm Simard is a fourth-year Graphic Design student at VIU. His photos and illustrations have been published in Portal Magazine with a photo featuring as the cover image for its 30th issue. When he isn’t designing he tends to spend time outdoors, whether it be on a trail run or identifying the plants along said trail.
Claire is a fourth-year Graphic Design student and two-time varsity swimmer. She grew up in Nanaimo and loves all that the west coast has to offer! When she’s not designing cool things or caring for her plants, Claire can be found obsessing over old houses on Instagram and relaxing to true crime podcasts. She works five jobs, but don’t let that fool you—she always has time to grab drinks with a friend.
Austin-Ryan is a 3rd year psychology student from small town Alberta and has the charm to match. Austin-Ryan likes to spend his free time taking street photography film photos, bungy jumping off of tall bridges, and making his friends laugh.
Sabrina is a fifth-year Psychology and Creative Writing student. Her poem "They Are Waiting" won last year's Portent Prize and was featured in Portal's 2021 Magazine. She loves exploring Vancouver Island, telling people about the UFO Landing Pad in her hometown, and is a wannabe free diver. In her last year of schooling she has realized just how much potential there is in being a student at VIU.