I would like to introduce myself to readers as the newest reporter with The Chief. My name is Zoe Szuch (pronounced "such") and I was born and raised in Toronto. I spent several years living in Ottawa where I attended Carleton University and majored in political science with a specialization in international relations.
I continued my education and attended Humber College where I had the opportunity to work on the executive of several magazines including MagWorld, a magazine about the Canadian print journalism industry, and Sweat, the official magazine of the Ontario College Athletic Association.
While completing my journalism studies I worked for the Toronto Star as a reporter and researcher during the 2006 municipal elections in the GTA and was the Editor-in-Chief of a corporate newsletter.
Upon the completion of my journalism degree, I moved to Medicine Hat to write for the local daily newspaper. While at the Medicine Hat News, I spent a year and a half reporting on a wide variety of events ranging from citizenship ceremonies to performance reviews.
I ended up specializing on reporting about arts, entertainment and lifestyles and managed to interview performers from the likes of Bif Naked, David Copperfield, Duane "Dog the Bounty Hunter" Chapman, The Trews, Buckcherry and 54-40.
My better half and I recently moved from the prairie town to the greater Vancouver area in hopes of pursuing greater opportunities - and we've found them. We are both eager to make Squamish our home.
In my eyes, the community offers the best of both worlds: the town is small enough to feel cozy but close enough to an urban centre just in case I start missing big city amenities. I love walking through downtown Squamish and watching locals interact with a nod of the head to a passerby or a smile to the storeowner.
Witnessing this type of behaviour indicates to me that residents love their community and take pride in it.
When I'm not being surprised by the friendliness of residents, I'm baffled by the exquisite landscape. Everywhere I turn, I see giant jagged mountains, some with evergreen trees and a few with clean white snowcaps. Since I grew up in Toronto, I'm accustomed to seeing sky scrappers everywhere I look and living in south-eastern Alberta I got used to seeing unobstructed views of the sky but Squamish is different.
The majestic mountains and lush forests are awe-inspiring. I now understand why so many artists have made this alluring town their home base.
I would like to thank everyone I have met; you have been incredibly kind and exceptionally welcoming to me.
I'm very excited to be a part of this community and make this town our new home. Feel free to contact me at The Chief by calling 604-892-9161 or drop me a line at [email protected].
