Welcome & Thank You For Visiting!
Here, I hope to share updates on the most recent professional and personal projects in which I am involved.
MY STORY
BACKGROUND & PERSONAL LIFE
My name is Noorin Manji. I’m in my mid-30s and I live in the Kitchener-Waterloo Area of Ontario, Canada. I was born in southern Ontario to a family of south Asian descent, and previous generations of my family have ties in East Africa and India. I primarily speak English, with partial fluency in French and some basic understanding of Hindi and Gujarati.
In my free time, I enjoy being anywhere near water, trying new restaurants, and spending time with my fiancé, friends, family, and my sweet pup, Karma -the cutest and sassiest Yorkshire Terrier you’ll ever meet! I really enjoy baking sweet treats and my biggest crowd pleasers are: raspberry cheesecake, Oreo truffles, and ice cream cake! I also love nail art – whether my own creations or those of my professional nail tech – it's such a fun, creative, and artistic way to connect with people! I’ve been lucky enough to travel all over the world, and some of the countries that stand out most in my mind include Jamaica, France, Greece, India, and Italy, among so many others. Some places I still hope to explore are Portugal, Japan, and Australia, along with a growing list of others.
EDUCATION
Education has always been an important part of my life, and I have loved being at school since I was a child. When I was young, school was a haven for me where I could open up my mind and heart to new ideas, new people, and new experiences. As I got older, school became a core component of my identity, and that remains true even today.
I completed my undergraduate degree at McMaster University from 2005-2009, with a double major in Sociology and Anthropology, and a minor in Political Science. It was difficult for me to choose just one area of focus because so many academic fields interest me, but one thing that is common to everything I’ve studied is a curiosity for learning about people and the societies we live in.
I moved on to complete my Master of Arts degree in Sociology, also at McMaster University from 2009-2010. This was a 1-year course-based program. During this degree, I took courses ranging in focus from topics on social theory and research methods, to those on media, culture, and society, and it was through these experiences that I solidified my interest in academia.
In 2010, I began my PhD in Sociology at the University of Waterloo (UW). The first year of my time at UW was spent engaging in the coursework component of the degree, followed by some time spent on two Comprehensive Exams (Comps). Comps essentially represent specific areas of expertise or ‘teachable’ topics. My first comp was on classical sociological theory. My second comp was on qualitative methods, with a special emphasis on digital culture and technology.
Once my comprehensive exams were completed, the next element of my PhD was my dissertation. This was a research project for which I was the principal investigator, requiring me to oversee all parts of the project from the proposal, to the ethics application, to the research instruments, to the data collection and analysis, and finally to the writing, defense, and publication of the dissertation. The topic of my dissertation research was focused on exploring how committed couples navigate smartphone use in their relationships. You can read the complete dissertation here.
I graduated with my Doctorate in Sociology in 2018 and have remained part of the University of Waterloo in many professional roles since then.
PROFESSIONAL LIFE
I taught my first course as a Sessional Instructor at the University of Waterloo in the Fall of 2016, and I continued as a Sessional Lecturer until 2022. As a Sessional Instructor, I had the chance to teach for several departments at UW including Arts First, Global Business and Digital Arts, and Sociology & Legal Studies. It was during this time that my passion for teaching really ignited as I saw just how impactful the experience could be on the various students I was interacting with. I developed a clear and effective method of teaching for both in-person and online courses, which enabled me to carve out a unique and distinct identity as an instructor, sometimes for up to 18 sessional courses in a single calendar year! Click here to check out a lecture excerpt from my online "Classical Sociological Theory" course, and peruse the rest of my CV for links to other lecture samples.
In September 2022, I was offered a Definite Term Lectureship in Arts First & Global Business and Digital Arts, which was elevated to an Assistant Professorship in 2024. Through these positions, my teaching load has become more balanced, and I also took on new service roles that gave me the chance to contribute to many programs, departments, faculties, and the university overall, in new and unique ways. Some of my service roles include being a committee member on teams like the Equity Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Curriculum Committee, and Annual Performance Review Committee; being a representative at institutional events like the Fall and Spring Open Houses; and being a contributor to undertakings like program recruitment efforts, student experience analytics, and other activities both on and off campus.
Beyond my role at the university, I’ve also co-owned and run my own business, Love of Language (LOL), since 2014. I developed the LOL curriculum from scratch as a way to address the gaps I noticed in traditional education, particularly relating to communication skills. After more than 15 years of tutoring students privately, it became apparent to me that, regardless of age or grade level, most students had the same challenges with writing and communication. I decided to create the LOL program to help students by giving them the tools that I wish someone had given me at their age!
LOL is a comprehensive and continuous 6-level program for students in grades 5-12. It is an extra-curricular class that students attend once a week during which they learn both core and advanced competencies for elements including, but not limited to: structured essay writing, grammar rules, public speaking, advanced vocabulary development, analytical work, professional development, and so many others. The goal is to best prepare students for success in their secondary, post-secondary, and professional lives! ! I’ve also loved connecting with my students at UW about my experience as an entrepreneur, and mentoring them, both formally and informally, in all things entrepreneurial! Read more about the LOL program here.
If there’s one thing you learn about me here, it should be this: I am an energetic and passionate individual who thrives on honesty and authenticity. My singular goal in life is to live peacefully and to make a positive impact on those I meet along the way!