Valentine’s day is just around the corner, and you’ll see that reflected throughout this issue of the Voice, as we’ve got ideas for that last minute gift—even if your wallet is looking a little bare—that go beyond the traditional flowers and chocolates.  And if you want to keep up with that love life you’ll need the stamina for it, and we’ve got you covered there as well, with not only a bouqet option that might improve your health but tips on how to keep that stamina up, perhaps even to the point of what happens when you go a little too far with it.

But of course, Valentine’s day is about more than just the physical, there’s also the mental aspect, so if you want to read about passion, then you’ll want to check out our feature articles.  That’s right, there’s two of them this week.

The first is an interview with a student who also runs a ranch and holistic healing enterprise.  What motivates a person to seek out further education? Find out in our Minds We Meet.

Our second feature this week, is an interview with AU’s new writer in residence, Richard Van Camp. This multi-faceted writer also strides two worlds, his nation of the Dogrib Tribe in the North West Territories as well as the more familiar western world, having been published in multiple mediums including novels, children’s stories, and even comics.  As AU’s writer in residence, he encourages students to connect with him so that he can hear and help you share your own stories.

We also look at the most romantic of writing, poems.  While there’s no poetry in this issue, we do go a bit meta with it, as Deanna Roney explores her relationship with it, including giving us some ideas of places we can start if we wanted to add a bit of poetry to our own lives.  In our modern world with the omnipresence of television, social media, and instant connections to nearly everything, the idea of taking the time that poetry often demands seems out of step.  But maybe that makes it more important now than ever.

But if you’re one of those people who feel that Valentine’s Day is more an excuse for greeting card and candy companies to push their wares, have no fear, we still have a number of other articles in this issue to keep you amused.

In particular, our interview with Via Intercom is worth a read.  It prompted me to seek out their music through the link and give it a listen.  If you want something that sounds both somehow familiar and yet completely new, you might want to do the same

We also take a look at CMIS 245, a course that designed to help you get the most out of Microsoft’s Office software.  I took this course a long time ago under a different name, and, I’ll have to admit, while it seemed a bit out of place for a university course at the time, it did provide a few extra tricks which came in very handy throughout the rest of my courses at AU.  These days it’s even more relevant given the subscription to Office 365 that comes with being an AU student.  If you haven’t taken this course already, I strongly suggest you read the article and consider it.  Not only might it boost your GPA, but I’m quite sure you’ll find it useful for future work.

We top all that with our news, events, scholarships and other regular listings, so enjoy the read!