Kristine Buchholtz, our volunteer of the month for December, joined Editors Canada in 2013. She is a member of the Editors Edmonton twig, which she helped start after the Prairie Provinces branch officially ceased operation in 2016.
Since 2015, Kristine has served on the certification steering committee, where she was heavily involved with developing the new Test Preparation Guides for copy editing and structural editing. Kristine also enjoyed helping to organize the Eight-Step Editing workshop (taught by Elizabeth d’Anjou) in Edmonton in 2016. She says all her volunteer experiences with Editors Canada have been memorable and worthwhile for improving her own editing skills and knowledge, but also because of the people she has worked with. “Let’s face it: finding a group where people like to talk about grammar is pretty darned special.”
Kristine has always loved writing and grammar, and her love for editing grew from these interests. After doing some editing on a volunteer basis for several years, her husband suggested that she “should try to make some money at it.” Following this advice, she looked into what was involved in starting a freelance editing career and learned about the Editors Canada professional certification exams, which she decided to write. Preparing for exams proved to be invaluable to her enhancing her editing skills. After writing the copy editing exam in 2013, she said to her study partner, “Even if I fail this exam, it was so worthwhile to have attempted it because I learned so much as I studied.” Kristine passed the copy editing exam that year. She also went on to pass the other three exams in the program, earning the full Certified Professional Editor (CPE) credential in 2015.
Kristine is now a freelance editor who edits a range of materials, which ties in nicely with her passion for learning new things.
The featured volunteer recognizes the contributions of our dedicated people who keep Editors Canada going. Volunteers are the backbone of the association, and we are grateful for the many members and affiliates who answer the call when help is needed.
Want to make a difference in your association? Find out more about volunteering for Editors Canada.