“I’m originally from Edmonton and moved to Ottawa in 2011. When my family moved into the Kitchissippi area, we realized how nice it is. My dad got a transfer over for work and I can say that Ottawa is a much more fun city than Edmonton. People call Ottawa ‘the city that fun forgot,’ but that’s totally untrue; there is a lot you can do in the city and it’s about how you can make it fun for yourself. The ward is very diverse and has many artistic types of people, so it’s really great because there is always something new in the Kitchissippi area.
I study political science at Carleton University and I’ve always had an interest in politics. Coming from an immigrant family, politics [are] always talked about at the dinner table. I started my career working at the Parliament of Canada, where I worked as a legislative assistant to several members of Parliament, but then I localized myself a little bit more, and I’m working with Councillor Catherine Kitts as her communications coordinator. I love knowing what Ottawa residents are thinking and what their main concerns are.
With the pandemic came a New Year’s resolution where I decided that I was going to start losing weight and start eating healthier. I’ve been cooking a lot more, and creating healthy meals for my family and I to enjoy. I’m also going to start taking martial arts because not only do I want to start learning self defence, but I want to continue my streak of weight loss.
One thing that I love to do is listen to and learn different languages. I always watch foreign media, whether it be music or movies. I can identify languages quite easily by just hearing them. Aside from English, I speak Serbian because my family is originally from Serbia, but I’m also learning Russian right now as well.
One of my favourite things to do in Kitchissippi ward, when the weather permits, is to go biking. I’ll bike either the entire Westboro area or find new routes to try.
Another passion of mine is art, and Kitchissippi is a great community for any artist to live in. Since we have been living here for a decade now, every year, you start to see new art installations coming up and things are constantly changing. Every time I go down to Wellington Street West or Richmond Road, there is always a new store that has opened. You want to go in and see what they offer. I really enjoy how there is always somewhere new to explore. It’s also a very safe neighborhood and there is something for everyone of all ages to enjoy. There is a lot of green space and it’s the perfect community for young families.”
Story collected by Charlie Senack.