My name is Alyssa Johnson.
I grew up in Duncan, BC and I have been in Nanaimo for over 10 years, originally moving here to attend Vancouver Island University. I earned my Diploma for Visual Arts in 2014 and Bachelor of Design in Graphic Design in 2018. My career so far has been varied. I started working at various print shops after completing school. After a while, I shifted into administrative work. Then, I applied to Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools (NLPS) and started working there in 2023.
In my personal life, I find creating things to be a calling that I cannot avoid. I become drawn to an idea, and I have a hard time moving on from it until I give it a try. If I don’t have time, the idea will wait in the back of my mind on standby. Sometimes the idea will expand while it waits. Sometimes it waits patiently for me to be ready. From taking up knitting and crocheting over the past year, to deciding I will screen print my own duvet cover, I am constantly challenging myself to continue trying new things. I love learning new skills and keeping my brain busy. Making gifts for other people brings me great joy. My mom has been the recipient of many experiments.
In my work life at NLPS, my role is Multimedia Designer-Content Creator in the Communications department. I love working with the current branding and creating new things within it. The projects I work on within this role are very broad. This includes helping to maintain the websites and social media, designing and laying out reports for the board, shooting photos at events, creating videos to share what the schools are up to, creating graphics and generally making things look good. A few of my more recent undertakings include creating a visual for our district’s new Tagline, and creating signage for our district-wide, all-school relay Terry Fox Marathon of Hope.
The more time I spend in Nanaimo, the more I feel connected to it. My job helps me see the youth and our community in a special light that gives me so much hope for the future. Nanaimo is such a unique place with so much opportunity and I’d love to help share that message with others. We have so much to appreciate about living in this wonderful place.