Posts By: Carla Knipe

Carla Knipe

Carla was born and raised in the West Kootenay region of BC, and is now settled in Calgary, Alberta following a dozen years living in England. Her British husband and their son keeps her on her toes, but she is currently on the final stretch of completing her BA in English through AU. In her free time, she spends as much time outdoors as she can by hiking, biking, gardening and geocaching.

Besides writing for The Voice, she loves to share her passion for words by being a Little Free Library steward in her community.

Carla’s favourite topics to write about are hobbies, current events and popular culture.

The Girl in the Pink Sweater

I see this girl, wearing the pink sweater. I look at the freckles and big eyes and remember growing up in an average small town and in an average family. That seemed like such a long time ago, but even now some of those memories of what she went through make my muscles tense and… Read more »

The Nursing Changes

Angry, disillusioned, and upset are just some of the words that some of Athabasca University’s nursing students have used to describe their reactions to recent changes to AU’s nursing program. While the changes are, according to AU, part of the process to streamline and improve programs and services to students, these changes have led to… Read more »

A Mixed Message – AU’s Comprehensive Institutional Plan

On November 25th, the Board of Governors at Athabasca University released its latest Comprehensive Institutional Plan (CIP). This document will guide the direction of the university for the next three years and clarifies its vision for long term sustainability. It outlines the strengths of AU but also provides a picture of the current and future… Read more »

Campus News – Still Holding on … For Now

The Canadian University Press (CUP) is hosting a series of round-table discussions across Canada about the future of journalism and the role of student newspapers. As a member of the organization, The Voice was invited to participate. The goals of these discussions are to engage student journalists and invite their feedback on the challenges they… Read more »

Rethinking the Mom Economy

One aspect of employment not often discussed is how work affects family life. Parents often say it is stressful and exhausting trying to balance the different roles that modern life requires. Parenting also seems to come with a hefty side-order of guilt; a feeling that that no matter what decision is made, it could be… Read more »

November is Canada Career Month

This month marks the first ever Canada Career Month. This new awareness month, sponsored by the Canadian Council for Career Development, is to discuss the issues in the current Canadian workplace in regional and national levels. The theme for the entire month is “Career Development Matters and Everyone has a Role to Play” but there… Read more »

Music Nostalgia Ain’t What It Used To Be

My husband turned to me one evening and said, “Do you know that some of our favourite albums turn 25 years old this year?” “Oh yeah? Name them,” I replied. He proceeded to rattle off a list straight from our iTunes playlist. Tori Amos, Little Earthquakes. Pearl Jam, Ten. REM, Out of Time. Niravana, Nevermind…. Read more »

Typewriters are the Newest Trend in Writing

Typewriters belong to an era of a recipe box of index cards, carefully typed out by your mother or grandmother, or of formal business letters meticulously formatted on embossed company stationery. These documents have such charm because they have an invisible subtext, a connection that exists between the words on the page and the writer…. Read more »

Exotic Pets Have Gone Mainstream

I never dreamed I’d be a reptile owner. But I guess it could be considered fate when I found myself agreeing to adopt two middle aged bearded dragons. A teacher at the school I work at brought the beardies to live there after her son went to university. He couldn’t take his pets with him…. Read more »

Personal Branding – A Blessing or A Curse?

This is not going to be an article about Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie?or, if you prefer, “Brangelina”. But the current state of their family problems aside, the celebrity power couple has become the top example of how entrenched personal branding is. Now, it seems that presenting yourself to the world as a walking CV… Read more »