ampus hews EDITOR BRANDON KOSTINUK THE DAILY VOICE, FRIDAY, APRIL 5, 2013 3 PATRICK COLVIN photo Diana Cuellar (left) and Becky Salmon (right) stand with acclaimed author and playwright Carmen Aguirre. Revolutionary speaks to class Langara grad, and Chilean resistance fighter, returns to campus CARMEN aguitre MOST NOTABLE WORK: Something Fierce: Memoirs of a Revolutionary Daughter * Book selected for 2012 edition of CBC Radio's Canada Reads OTHER WORKS: Has written over 20 stage plays to date: which includes in a Land Called | Don't Remember, Chile Con Carne, The Trigger and The Refugee Hotel By PATRICK COLVIN ot many students know what it is like to live under the reign of a brutal dictator — let alone take up arms as a revolutionary to fight against one - but honoured Lang- ara alumna Carmen Aguirre does. Yesterday she shared that experi- ence in a presentation with Langara’s Latin American cultural perspectives class. Carmen Aguirre, a Studio 58 gradu- ate, is a celebrated theatre artist who has been involved in over 20 plays as well as multiple film and television pro- ductions. Her award winning 2012 memoir, Something Fierce, outlines her experi- ence in the Chilean resistance move- ment where she fought against the bru- tal regime of Augusto Pinochet. Her presentation began with a read- ing from her memoir. The section she chose centered around words repeated by a fellow re- sistance fighter during a turbulent train ride through Peru: “any experi- ence is good.” When asked what those words meant to her, Aguirre replied, “They mean everything happens for a reason, no matter what you go through, you were meant to go through it, and you will learn something from it.” Students not only learned a great deal from Aguirre’s book, they really enjoyed it. “Tm from South America myself... love it, I just loved the book,” said stu- dent Diana Cuellar. Classmate Becky Salmon shared a similar sentiment. “It was fantastic, I just hammered through it,“ said Salmon, adding, “it was so inspiring ... it was like meeting a movie star.” Aguirre is currently writing a follow up to Something Fierce while continu- ing to work on television and theatre projects. “Tm always very inspired by young people, I feel energized whenever I do a presentation with young people,” said Aguirre. “T have a soft spot for Langara be- cause I did graduate from here, those were very important years of my life.” When asked how she would define her experience at Langara, Aguirre re- plied with a laugh, “earth shattering.” Some of her other notable works in- clude In a Land Called I Don’t Remem- ber, the Trigger and the Refugee Hotel. They are available at the Vancouver Public Library. Picking up the phone could mean work Employment expert says forget email, a phone call shows more initiative By MARIE-ANDREE DEL CID orking a summer job is an ex- Wie: way for students to prove to future employers that they’re interested in a particular field and ready to work. Most employers who hire for the summer start recruiting as soon as possible and sometimes don’t advertise it, which means student’s need to act quickly. “Spread your net as wide as you pos- sibly can,” said vice-president of Hunt Personnel, Greg Colborne. He recommended students begin by looking for employment opportunities within their social circles like family and friends. Depending on what indus- try a student wants to work in, gener- ally, there are various locations where a person can look. “T would suggest using the Internet to find opportunities and contacts of people you should be giving your re- sume to,” Colborne said. “Find out who does the hiring and get your resume directly to them. “It... doesn’t always have to bea job posting that is on a job board, do your own legwork as well,” he added. Colborne also said to follow up with a phone call two or three days after- wards, just to make sure they received your resume and to see if there is any- thing happening. “Following up with a phone call is much better than an email because it shows drive and initiative,” said Col- borne. “You have to let them know that you are interested. You may not get to that person directly and you might end up with a voice mail but that separates you from everyone else who just relied on email,” he said. Phone calls are the harder way, but the harder way always gets better re- sults, and that is anything in life said Colborne. Attending networking events that either schools or companies hold for job opportunities is also a great way for students to meet new people and pos- sibly land a job, said Employment Of- fice shortlisting specialist Jessica Humbler. “It is a good way to get your name out there,” said Humbler. “You can also check out jobscanada.com, Monster and applyfirst.ca,” she said. The worst time to apply for any job is usually during breaks. That’s when ev- eryone is on vacation said Humbler. OOKING i orwo Pick up the telephone Use the Internet and reach out to family and friends for job opportuni- ties Attend networking events put on by schools and companies Try to contact employer directly Crumpled paper focus of art gallery Langara design formation grads will show off their Skills at next week’s show By JES CUNNINGHAM deformation. Next Thursday, Langara will be hosting its first ever Creative Arts Pop- Up Gallery to display the work of this year’s design formation graduates. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and there is no cost to attend. “It looks interesting, and given our budget, [crumbled paper is] accessi- ble,” said student Bjorn Rieder. In fact, Reider said it was paper dresses that got him into the program two years ago. Maddy Adams, one of this year’s graduates, plans to be featuring her portfolio including some _ personal works, but mostly graphic designs, conceptual interior spaces and photog- raphy. Each of the graduating artists will be given an individual panel to display their work. “This is going to be an environment where everyone shines,” Adams said. “[Crumpled paper and deformation] is the unifying theme, but everyone gets a chance to be individuals.” We want to “make everyone forget that this is the school,” said Yvan Morissette, workshop attendant. “We are designing a space within a space.” The department has installed new track lighting in the foyer and plans to change the appearance of the floor, as well as putting up a large sign and cur- tains in the entryway. Everything is put together by the “3D team,” which is in charge of a large portion of the decorations and design of the foyer. The gallery idea was thought of be- fore Christmas break, but it wasn’t un- til January when the department de- cided to proceed. “It’s exciting, and gives them a chance to interpret the design pro- cess,” said Morissette. “Our goal is to make it more interesting and target the professionals. Te theme is crumpled paper and JES CUNNINGHAM photo Student Bjorn Reider hard at work.