Ambrosia Team

Shonda Tilitzky — Managing Editor

Shonda is in her fifth and last year in the English Literature program at Ambrose University. She has been a contributor and editor of Ambrosia for the majority of her degree, and hopes to keep the tradition of Ambrosia alive for future students. Shonda enjoys reading, learning, and writing poetry and prose (not always in that order). She is also a self-proclaimed coffee addict.

Rachel VanderWoude – Ambrosia Founder

Rachel was an English Literature major at Ambrose University, and graduated in 2020. She runs a magazine of her own, and has a blog (which is updated sporadically at best). Rachel has loved literature and poetry since she was little, and is a voracious reader. Her favourite book is The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. In her spare time, she might be found playing piano or violin, or else up a tree somewhere enjoying nature.

Heather Mack – Ambrosia Founder

Heather was an English Literature student at Ambrose University who graduated in 2019. Her goal is to work as a clinical social worker counselling youth who have experienced trauma. She is passionate about people and loves to hear their stories. Heather is a creative writer and an avid reader; if she isn’t with a friend (or a stranger) listening to their story, she is off somewhere with her nose in a book: coffee in one hand, and a pen in the other.

Elizabeth Gripping – Advisor

Elizabeth holds a BA from Ambrose University and an MA from the University of Alberta, both in English literature. She specializes in Canadian literature, particularly contemporary experimental poetry, but she enjoys and appreciates works from a wide range of genres and periods. She has taught a variety of courses, including The Twentieth-Century Novel, Canadian Literature, and Film and Literature.

Elizabeth also holds a certificate in English language instruction from Cambridge University (CELTA) and enjoys teaching composition and English as a second or additional language. She currently coordinates the work of the Ambrose Writing Centre and Ambrose Tutoring Services.

Darren Dyck – Faculty Advisor

Darren Dyck is an Associate Professor of English at Ambrose University. He researches and writes on Shakespeare’s connections to the world of medieval literature and thought, but his teaching interests are far broader and range from C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien to Ancient Myth and Literature to Spiritual Autobiography. He also tweets.

Jonathan Goossen – Faculty Advisor

Jonathan Goossen is Associate Professor of English at Ambrose. He focuses his attention on Renaissance literature because nothing more beautiful or true has been written in English. When not pondering the Great Chain of Being, he enjoys spending time with his much-beloved wife and children, taking the evening air on his patio, and tinkering with his van.