Nikki Buechler

Shawville Nov 24, 2021

I’m Nikki. I’m not from the area, but I have noticed it doesn’t matter — I have felt very welcomed. Besides, I’ve been informed you need to be here for several generations to be considered local. At least three.

I love the Outaouais region, and I’m excited that I get to be part of the longstanding tradition of independent newspaper media. I respect the ethics and values of The Equity and it is a privilege to be here.

My undergraduate degree is in music, from the University of Toronto. I completed a Master’s degree at Oxford University at St Catherine’s College, after which I accepted a fellowship at Stanford University, where I spent four years in graduate school. I am interested in music, history, indigenous issues, and linguistics.

My career path has been somewhat adventurous. I left home at 16 and spent a few years farming (tobacco and horses) in Ontario. Later, I spent five years playing in symphony orchestras (concert violinist/violist) in England and Europe. In California I lived in Silicon Valley, and worked as a Unix consultant, teacher, and linguist.

For fun, I play music (violin and piano) and I’m an avid gardener. I play video games (I have a teenage son). We live with our two rescue cats.

I arrived here from California (land of earthquakes and forest fires) and landed in Ottawa just in time for the tornadoes and floods. And then COVID happened.

I moved to Shawville at the start of the pandemic and haven’t had the opportunity to interact with many people yet. I have a feeling that’s about to change! I look forward to meeting everyone.