Communicator
Language fascinates me. Depending on the audience, the writer, and the editing, words can be molded and manipulated to make many different meanings.
As a life-long learner, I enjoy being challenged to improve communication, whether written or presented, and I love managing projects that engage stakeholders with a range of perspectives. I'd love to work with you.
I focus on relationships and outcomes. I am driven, curious, creative, flexible, diligent, and dependable. I am a certified professional editor, a writer, and a project manager with more than ten years of experience.
I am capable of managing concurrent projects while maintaining schedule deadlines in fast-paced environments and building strong relationships evidenced by repeat client projects. I have worked in both in-house roles and as a freelancer, volunteered with community groups and not-for-profits, worked with English language learners, and studied teaching and learning.
I'm eager to continue my work as a professional for clear, concise communication and strategic client success. With my enthusiasm and motivation, I bring perspective, experience, and positivity to the team.​​
Mother
and step parent
I have always been interested in languages and cultures: my dad, who is Swiss-Canadian, and my mom, who has Scottish and English heritage, instilled in me an appreciation for other cultures and perspectives. For two years, I lived in Spain, where I fell in love with the Spanish language and culture. Since then, I have continued my Spanish studies on my own and through my undergraduate and master's degree at the University of Calgary.
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In my linguistics studies, I took a specific interest in child language acquisition and the bilingual environment, not only because of my experiences, but also because my son's father and I are raising him in both Spanish and English. I have learned that reading to infants from birth is one of the most important aspects of early language acquisition. When my son was born, the only advice the paediatrician had for me was to read him at least three books per day. As I interacted with other parents and researched more, I realized that this is a very important, but undervalued, message.
From these experiences, I started to form my research interests. My goal with my book My Canadian Family is to increase awareness and support for families who want to encourage their children to learn their heritage language and culture. In the future, I want to continue to support dual-language reading for bilingual families.
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My passion for linguistics and languages led to my career as a freelance translator, editor, and writer.
I have had the chance to work with many different clients — from English language learners to professional writers, and from not-for-profit organizations to corporate clients. Every project is a new challenge, and I love it!
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My experiences have not only exposed me to a variety of professionals, peers, and community members, but also to varied cultures, contexts, strategic planning, business systems, and procedures. The common theme of my most fulfilling roles has been helping people achieve their aspirations, and I look forward to continuing this work.
Contact
For editing services, training, bookings, or media inquiries, please contact me:
Tel: 403-619-7543 | raina.schnider@gmail.com