Carving out a creative career: an interview with Mark Leiren-Young

Don’t want to commit to just one career path? Being flexible can lead you on some amazing adventures.

On today’s episode, Katy and Emma speak with Mark Leiren-Young who was UVic's second ever double major, in Theatre and Creative Writing and who currently works as a UVic professor in the Writing department, among many other roles.

We chat with Mark about:

• Working in creative fields as diverse as writing award-winning movies The Green Chain and the Hundred-Year-Old Whale
• Hosting the Skaana podcast, where he covers ocean-related environmental issues
• Touring Canada as half of the comedy duo, Local Anxiety
• Teaching classes on the Marvel and DC universes

…and much more!

Resources from this episode

• Skaana podcast
• UVic Writing Program
• The UVic Co-op Program
• Accessing career support

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• Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter
• Follow UVic Co-op and Career on social media

• (00:00) - Music intro
• (00:32) - Welcome and host intros
• (02:18) - All about Mark Leiren-Young
• (03:20) - Stumbling into a journalism job after graduating in the late 80's
• (05:42) - Why it's important to study something you love
• (06:56) - A cornucopia of all the jobs that Mark has done in the arts
• (09:17) - What's the common thread in careers by creative people?
• (11:02) - How Mark started writing tv scripts in the 90's, starting with an episode of The X Files
• (12:22) - How Mark landed the writing gig for the Orca Exhibit at the Royal BC Museum and became "the whale guy"
• (16:05) - How Mark became a podcaster focused on stories about Orcas
• (20:15) - How Mark helps students from all disciplines tap into their creative side in FA 101 "Creative Being"
• (23:43) - Mark's advice on how to translate your passion for the arts into a career you love
• (26:02) - Rapid fire: what's something on campus that's stayed the same since the 80s
• (26:51) - Rapid fire: best place to grab food on campus