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Mr. Rick Maranta (BA 1988, MA 1990)

Mr. Rick Maranta     At UW, Rick Maranta (BA 1988, MA 1990) learned that a degree in English could lead to many career opportunities beyond teaching: “I think that one of the advantages of attending Waterloo for an English degree is that you are steeped in a world where technology takes centre stage. Though you may study Chaucer or American Literature, it’s a place where it’s easy to see where your growing abilities to write clearly, think critically, and express yourself creatively can find a place in other fields such as business, technology or science.”

     Rick admired several of his professors—Dr. Bill MacNaughton (his thesis supervisor), Dr. Peter Hinchcliff, Dr. Lynne Magnusson, Dr. Gordon Slethaug, Dr. Bob Gosselink, (who taught him to write better), and Dr. John North (who encouraged him to do a PhD--which he didn’t do) to name a few. Rick remembers spending many a fine hour during his Master’s degree, discussing Critical Theory over a game of tabletop hockey at the plaza or a beer at the Grad Club with his friend Norm Klassen, now himself an English professor, and current Chair, at St. Jerome's.

     While at UW, Rick tutored several Chinese visiting scholars in English before the whole Tiananmen Square thing happened. He enjoyed engaging some of the brightest minds that China had to offer and hoped to move there after graduating to continue teaching English.

     After earning his Master’s degree, Rick attended teacher's college at the University of Ottawa where he earned his Bachelor of Education. Unable to find a permanent teaching job at the time, he sought employment elsewhere and was eventually hired at Nortel Networks. He stayed with Nortel for about ten years doing technical writing, technical training, multimedia development, and online learning. For fun, Rick has, over the years, tried his hand at stand up comedy, comedy writing, and screenwriting.

     Rick currently co-owns a successful e-learning company called Pinched Head specializing in creating custom e-learning courses for corporate clients.