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There’s a new face (and hat) at The Northern View

A bit about the View’ s spring intern, the stories he likes to write and what he thinks of Rupert
Marc Fawcett-Atkinson
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Northern View spring intern Marc Fawcett-Atkinson. (Shannon Lough / The Northern View)

Hi. I’m Marc.

I write stories about the things that tie people, places, and communities together. Technically, I’m a master’s student in journalism at the University of British Columbia interning in newsrooms across northern Canada for the next four months. Prince Rupert is my first stop.

I’m here to listen to the issues, perspectives, and viewpoints that shape a coastal town in northern B.C.

I’ve been here a week now, and in that time I’ve had the chance to talk about wooden fishing boats to my heart’s content, try to figure out how 105 km/h winds dented 39-meter tall pellet silos, and listen to a family about their determination to Relay for Life.

READ MORE: High winds dent a silo at the pellet terminal

It’s these kinds of stories — the tales of passion, frustration, concern, and love for a place and community — that brought me to Prince Rupert. I hope that you will help me tell them.

It’s also the weather.

I grew up in Nova Scotia loving the sleet, snow and storms that cover the province for most of the year. To me, it wasn’t a problem. I still got outside running, hiking, kayaking and cycling in all weather. If anything, those endless weeks of winter slipped the northern bug under my skin — and it hasn’t left.

I left the East Coast in my last year of high school and moved to the southwestern tip of Vancouver Island for school. This first two-year stint was my introduction to the West Coast’s mountains, fish and trees. After that, I moved back east, to a granite island in Maine. There, I studied human ecology, or the study of the relationships between people and their social and physical worlds.

But when school was out, I explored cold places. I worked as a guide in the Yukon, sailed between Greenland and Labrador, and built trails in the Selkirks and Iceland. It was these experiences that have shaped the question behind my work: what stories tie people to places and weave together communities?

Especially when the weather is (often) cold and damp.


newsroom@thenorthernview.com
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