Plot Twists: Arts Alumni Career Stories

Bill Nikolai (BA’80 – International Relations, MEd’86, MLIS’08)

Retired academic librarian, former ESL instructor, still evolving writer and actor

"You’re a real MacGyver." Well, maybe not the real MacGyver, but his stand-in and photo double.

If you mapped Bill Nikolai's career on paper, it might look more like a travel itinerary than a career plan. Since graduating from UBC, his journey has included being a law school dropout, blacksmithing, teaching in Japan, travel writing, photography, television, graduate studies, modeling and working as a librarian. Bill's story explores how pursuing your interests first, seizing opportunities, and knowing when to move on leads you to places you never imagined.

Caleb Lee (BA'06 – Speech Sciences)

Advisor (AI Learning) at SRK Consulting

The 19-Ended Plot Twist

Nineteen roles. Pastoring. Hairdressing. 1.33 master's degrees. And now a role helping employees transform their work with AI. Caleb Lee's career is a never-ending Choose Your Own Adventure book. His story shows how refusing to regret, crossing your t's and dotting your i's, and going with the flow with a rudder can lead to pleasantly surprising horizons.

Heidi Eaves (BA'94 – English & Theatre)

Head of People and Culture at Next Level Games

The Curiosity Plot Twist

Few people who start out intending to teach English expect a career that spans video game development, human resources, navigating a company through a global pandemic, and finding their purpose. Heidi Eaves didn't either. Her story explores reinvention, curiosity, and the surprising opportunities that appear when we're striving to leave each room better than we found it.

Kat Jayme (BFA’11 – Film Production)

Canadian documentary filmmaker

The Filmmaker Plot Twist

What do a Vancouver basketball team, a tennis superstar, and a UBC Film Production student have in common? More than Kat Jayme ever expected. Long before directing documentaries for ESPN, Nike, CBC, and Naomi Osaka, she was simply trying to find her place in the film industry. Kat's story explores the risks, setbacks, and unexpected opportunities that transformed an ambitious student into one of Canada's most acclaimed documentary filmmakers.

Kevin Spenst (MFA’11 – Creative Writing)

Teacher, author, poet and performer

When Kevin Spenst entered UBC to do an MFA in fiction, his long-lost love for poetry was reignited. What followed was a conflagration of change, much of which he documented through his devotion to the many forms poetry takes on the page and on the stage. Through creative writing, he found a healing journey into a book that honoured his father whose life had been stunted by schizophrenia. Kevin's story explores creativity, perseverance, and learning to recognize success when it arrives in unexpected corners.

Mandy Bhullar (BA'16 – Psychology)

Director, Global External Advisory, Policy & Impact at lululemon

Bio pending

Oliver Mann (BA'13 – Asian Studies & Economics)

Senior Manager, Marketing & Events at Innovation UBC

If you'd asked Oliver in his fourth year what he'd do after graduation, he probably would have told you something in Canada-Asia relations. He was on exchange in Seoul and interning at BC's Trade Office. Instead, he graduated and became a professional musician. He signed with a record label, toured internationally, and had a day job doing communications for UBC's Department of Asian Studies. When he stopped playing music, he started doing photography—shooting models, musicians, and actors—and he taught rock climbing in the mornings. His career path wasn't what he expected (and is nowhere near finished). He hopes he can inspire others to follow their curiosity wherever it leads.

Stevie Wilson (BA'12 – History)

Executive Brand & Narrative Strategist

I planned one career. I've had three. The history degree explains all of them.

Before helping shape some of North America's most recognizable brands, Stevie Wilson studied how societies choose what to remember. She thought her Arts degree had set her path. Instead came a string of plot twists: a documentary, a job she applied for without knowing what it was, and a dream role she walked away from. Her story is about why the detours are often the point, and why most careers only make sense in hindsight.