Graduate profile: Fiona Steele
GRADUATE STUDENT PROFILE
Fiona Steele
MASTER OF ARTS IN ISLAND STUDIES | THESIS
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THESIS DETAILS
When stories lead to sustainable tourism: the role podcasting plays in developing socially sustainable tourism on islands.
Supervisor: Professor Don Desserud
RESEARCH INTERESTS
- Tourism
- Folklore
- Storytelling
- Cold water islands
CONNECT WITH FIONA
BIOGRAPHY
Fiona Steele graduated with a double major in Journalism and Communications & Public Policy from St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick before returning home to the Island. As a current MAIS thesis student, she is researching how podcasting can lead to sustainable tourism on cold water islands.
Fiona’s research interests stem from her years working in museums across PEI, as well as the podcast she hosts for the PEI Museum and Heritage Foundation. ‘the hidden island’ podcast inspired her to wonder if the medium could be used in developing place narratives for tourism destinations that represent local perspectives.
SCHOLARSHIPS & AWARDS
• Best Student Research Presentation (ISIC 2022 Island Studies Conference)
• Florence Simmons Global Experience Scholarship (UPEI, 2022)
• Canada Graduate Scholarships-Master’s Program Scholarship (SSHRC, 2021)
• Christine Morris Prize (highest GPA in Journalism courses, STU, 2021)
• Frank McKenna Prize (highest GPA in Communications/Public Policy courses, STU, 2021)
• David Adams Richards Prize for Non-Fiction (excellence in writing non-fiction and creative non-fiction, STU, 2021)
PUBLICATIONS
A Walk on the Edge: “Searching for Islandness on the Edge” | IST6140 Assignment (2019).
‘the hidden island’ Podcast 2020-Onward
CONFERENCES
RECENT PRESENTATIONS
The 16th International Conference on Small Island Cultures (June 22-25, 2022): “the hidden island as a creative approach to sustainable island tourism”