“Hey Innis! My name is Catherine Dumé and I am the Online Editor of the Innis Herald. I study political science, and this will be my third year commuting to campus! Outside the Herald, I am always tinkering with the next episode of the Ask Amelia Podcast, thinking about writing my third fantasy novel, drawing or watching the next episode of The Blacklist or Downton Abbey. I will be reading all of your comments so don’t forget to leave a comment!”

Who has influenced you most when it comes to how you approach your work?

To be honest, I didn’t have a ready answer for this question, as I don’t exactly idolize after a particular person when it comes to how I approach my work. However I will say, that there was this one lady, whose name I have no clue of, significantly shaped the way I treat any type of work. She suggested that I shouldn’t aspire to attend university because of my poor grades. While, she probably thought it was a realistic thing to say, it showed me that she couldn’t imagine the potential within me, she thought I would be satisfied with my limitations. But after that, I was determined to prove her wrong, to prove my worth, that I deserved to have a chance of attending a university despite being disabled. This determination can be seen in hard working ethic. Once I start something, I don’t stop until it is finished, and if it is, I go beyond than required. That is true for school, and for my various creative projects.

What is your favorite piece of writing and why?

It may sound ironic that despite loving this quote from the Tales of Two Cities for its richness in parallelism , I never was able to finish the book because I found the story to be so dull. Perhaps I will be able to sit down and finish the book in a day as I normally do, but you gotta admit, it is such a beautiful first paragraph that hooks you with such intrigue. I hope to one day carve such a beautiful hook.

What’s your go-to productivity trick?

Normally I like to say “Time management!” cause I’m slightly obsessed with organizing my day/week. But one thing I know is that, if you don’t get your butt out of bed, you’re not gonna do everything you planned, especially if you decide to spend an hour or two on social media. I know that isn’t what we originally planned, but it ended up being two hours. So I put on my Bluetooth and play my favorite fast paced pop song on my playlist. Music always gets me up and dancing so, even when I am dead tired, I can’t help doing a little twist of the hips as I get ready for the day. It is basically my coffee before I even make coffee. So make your own energizing playlist!

”If you ever want to reach out regarding submissions, questions about the herald, or want to know more about me you can reach out at Website.herald.@gmail.comHope to see you soon!