Sails & Tales | About us
Clay Appell
I was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. I grew up in the same neighbourhood my entire childhood in East York, and when I was 17, I moved to Waterloo, Ontario, which is about 100 km west of Toronto. I moved there to pursue a degree in geography at Wilfrid Laurier University in 2014. I enjoyed my time there, but in my final year attending the institution, I realized that I needed a change of scenery, as Waterloo can be quite dreary and dull. I moved back to Toronto for a few months, before deciding to pursue a master’s degree. At the time I was unsure of what I wanted to study, and I conducted some online research to assess my options. A few months into my search, I stumbled upon a peculiar program called “Island Studies”. I decided to phone the head of the department, Dr. Randall, and after conversing with him just once, I was quite sure that this was the program that I wanted to attend, as he ‘sold’ me on the program quite well. I began writing an application, and after a few weeks of dedicated work and editing, I submitted the application. After two months of anxiously waiting, I was delighted to find out that I been accepted in March, 2019, and I soon thereafter began making preparations to move to Prince Edward Island in the fall of the same year. The program has been excellent, and I am concluding my course work and first year, and will soon begin writing my thesis next month.