Ilyssia (they/them)

Ilyssia is an educator and artist from Winnipeg, Manitoba (Treaty 1 territory). They initially received their integrated Bachelor of Arts and Education at the University of Winnipeg in 2018 with a focus on high school years, history and French. Each practicum placement in the K-12 system showed there’s something to love, admire, and cherish teaching any age group, from early years’ curiosity to teenagers’ determined passion. They taught as a substitute teacher for multiple school divisions in Winnipeg, which meant that every day was unique and it was important to make quick connections with a full class of new students!

In 2019, Ilyssia moved to Vancouver to study illustration at Emily Carr with the goal of learning how to merge their artistic practice with their role as an educator. The constant rain was a big shock – they miss the bright winter sun bouncing off packed snow, but are forever in awe of the mountains. One big dream for Ilyssia is to illustrate a children’s book. They usually volunteer to read at closing circle because they love to be close to the story and see all the hidden details in the pictures. Their favourite books are the Septimus Heap/Magyk series, Bunnicula (the graphic novel), and The Very Hungry Caterpillar.

When it comes to the outdoors, Ilyssia is the oldest sister to SIX younger brothers, so they’re used to a couple grass stains in the name of play. They grew up camping, foraging for blueberries, tobogganing, skating, biking, and fishing. They recently went on a trip to Vancouver Island and walked along the shore at Pacific Rim National Park, where they had the most fun tucked into the jagged rocks, watching the anemones in the tide pools.