Alumni Profiles

Kevin Connery

Adrian de Leon

Adrian De Leon is Assistant Professor of American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California, in Los Angeles. His research and creative practice investigate indigeneity, settlers of color, and labor politics in Scarborough and the Filipino diaspora across the Pacific. Adrian graduated from UTSC’s Specialist Program in English with a BA (Honours, with Distinction) in 2014. He completed his PhD in History at the University of Toronto in 2019, where he was a Junior Fellow and Don of Hall at Massey College. Adrian’s research was supported by grants from SSHRC, Fulbright, and various universities. His first book, Rouge, was published in 2018 by Mawenzi House.

Ann Gagne

Ann first graduated from UTSC in physical inorganic chemistry and worked in the geo-chemical field for almost a decade. However, her passion from a young age was always English literature and teaching so she returned to UTSC to complete her English degree before pursuing a Master’s degree in English at York University and PhD in Victorian literature at Western University. Her dissertation focused on the representation of tactility in Victorian literature and she can attribute her love of nineteenth-century literature to Professor Christine Bolus-Reichert. Professor Bolus-Reichert’s Romantics course along with Professor Andrew Patenall’s courses, which she took as an undergraduate, inspired Ann to go to graduate school.

Alexandra Gater

Daniele Hopkins

Daniele Hopkins is a Toronto-based intermedia artist and founder and Executive Director of Electric Perfume, a community-oriented space focusing on experiential arts through exhibitions, events, workshops, socials, and development/playtesting. At Electric Perfume, she organizes and curates shows and series that give creators within the community a chance to learn, explore, perform, and showcase their endeavours. Electric Perfume also functions as a production studio where Daniele develops interactive and experiential works for a variety of commercial clients, venues, galleries, and events offsite.

Aakriti Kapoor

Aakriti Kapoor pursued a Double Major in English and Psychology, as well as a Minor in Studio Arts at UTSC. She graduated in 2016 with high distinction and is currently a Master of Teaching Candidate at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). At OISE she is studying to become a licensed teacher while also conducting SSHRC funded research in education technology. Aakriti's research uses the literary analysis model to create educational software that enable students to think critically in information rich digital worlds.

Niyosha Keyzad

Niyosha completed an Honours BSc (with Distinction) from UTSC in 2010, with a double major in Evolutionary Anthropology and English. She received a Masters of  Arts in American and Postcolonial Literatures from McGill University, where she taught a number of creative writing courses and worked as the Editorial Assistant for the McGill News Alumni Magazine. She spent a year teaching English in France at Lycée du Golfe de Saint Tropez and Collège Victor Hugo, before  returning to the University of Toronto to pursue a PhD at the Department of English and the Centre for Diaspora and Transnational Studies. Her doctoral research focuses on memoirs of the Iranian diaspora, literatures of exile and displacement, and theories of space and identity. 

Noor Khan

Based in Scarborough, born in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia with South Asian roots, Noor Khan is a community-engaged artist and art manager. She uses the mediums of still & motion picture, graphics, as well as written word to support artists, organizations, and brands within and around her community. Her personal artwork commemorates erased pasts and envisions ethical futures. With a background of research in Critical Development, English & Media Studies and training in project management & anti-oppression, Noor’s work is grounded in community development and looks towards art as a form of reflection and resolution of personal and communal challenges.

Zahra Khosroshahi

A specialist degree in English Literature unleashed many possibilities for me. It’s taken me from the study of literature to cinema, and led me from Toronto to the UK. Importantly, it invited me to think seriously about the life path and journey I want to embark on. After graduating, I applied for a Master’s Degree in English Literary Studies at the University of York in the UK where I focused on Renaissance Literature and Drama. During the gap year in between undergrad and graduate school, I completed a postgraduate certificate in Public Relations and Corporate Communications.

Chelsea La Vecchia

Chelsea La Vecchia graduated from UTSC with distinction in 2017 with a major in English literature and minors in creative writing and anthropology. She was the president of the Students of English Literature and Film (SELF), where she hosted a weekly radio show, developed a creative writing mentorship program with the Toronto Public Library, and organised a city-wide creative writing conference called Emerging Voices. In her final year, she began her novel as a creative thesis with Andrew Westoll, and mentored under Dr. Sonja Nikkila and Professor Maria Assif on a critical thesis about food in fantasy literature.

Alysha Navarro

Alysha Navarro graduated in 2017, earning her Honours Bachelor of Arts with High Distinction. With a double major in History and English, she studied to become a licensed teacher by earning her Bachelor of Education at York University.

During her time at UTSC, she was highly involved with student life and leadership by volunteering extensively with Scarborough Campus OUT, taking a position as Operations Executive. She attended, participated, and helped to facilitate many events as a representative of UTSC on a city-wide, provincial, and even a national level.

Natasha Ramoutar

Natasha graduated with High Distinction in 2016 with a double major in English and French. Blending her passion for creative writing and research, she was widely involved within the English department. She was published both at Scarborough campus and St. George campus in Scarborough Fair Magazine, The Varsity, Goose Fiction, and The Spectatorial. Furthermore, she presented her creative writing 3 years in a row at the Undergraduate Humanities Conferences, presented her research at the 2016 Interdisciplinary Research & Discovery Symposium, and read at the Miriam Toews: In Conversation event in 2014. 

Nida Rashid

Leanne Toshiko Simpson

Leanne Toshiko Simpson discovered her love of creative writing at UTSC, where she volunteered her time as senior editor of Scarborough Fair and shared her short fiction at many COW meetings. After winning the creative nonfiction category of the UTSC Creative Writing Contest in 2014, Leanne publicly shared her struggle with bipolar disorder for the first time at the Scarborough Fair launch party. It sparked a passion for mental health advocacy through both research and creative writing.

Anna Sullivan

Christine Tran

As an undergraduate at the University of Toronto Scarborough (UTSC), Christine Tran double-majored in English and Media Studies with a minor in Economics. She also served as President for the UTSC chapter of Sigma Tau Delta. Christine is completing her MA in English at York University courtesy of a SSHRC Joseph-Armand Bombardier CGS Master's Scholarship. She locates her research interests in post-structuralist theory, digital humanities, and post-colonial women’s engagements with literature as a material object.