Taylor Zantingh: Striving to Contribute to Communities

The spotlight is on our latest hire, Taylor Zantingh– And she’s ready to rock this new position! In Sheridan’s Creative Writing and Publishing program, Taylor is well known for her passion for all things creative, and her experience with local artists and writers. She was initially drawn to the Creative Humanities through their work with Breakthrough Film Festival (BFF). As someone who strives to contribute to communities, working for the Creative Humanities and TENT was a logical and natural step forwards in her professional career.

Small Communities, Big Ideas

Taylor has a lifelong dedication to contributing to local artists on a grassroots level. Whether it be by managing her own band, hosting art sharing events, or supporting local initiatives, Taylor is always directly involved with the creative community around her. Her work will always have an element of political activism behind it, as she strives to contribute to communities that has a positive effect on the world around, no matter the scale.

Making Genuine Connections

Taylor considers her ability to connect with others to be one her natural strengths. To her, meeting and supporting new people is so much more than just “Networking”. She considers every professional relationship she makes to be authentic and genuine, rather than self-serving. This is her guiding principle in how she gives and grows with the people around her, rather than use them as a mean to an end.

Do What You Love

As for advice from the young artist, Taylor has this to say: “Don’t wait for someone to tell you you’re good enough, just do it. Do what you love, regardless of how much skill you think you have.” This piece of advice came from her own struggle in expanding her reach in a professional sense. She often found herself second guessing her skills and waiting for someone to tell her that she was good enough to take the first step forwards. It took realizing that there would never be someone to give her that permission, and that she needed to trust in her own strengths to make those big decisions. Taylor will certainly be an influential and inspiring addition to our initiative. Welcome on board, Taylor!