By Marianne Meadahl

Bonnie Tulloch is used to making a splash.

A lifeguard and swimming instructor in Langley, she made local headlines by creating Waves of Compassion, a fundraiser for the Red Cross, inspired by the 2011 Japan earthquake.

This week, she’ll address graduates as a student speaker during her convocation ceremony, hoping her words of wisdom on reaching out and making a difference in the world may have a ripple effect.

When the earthquake in Japan struck, Tulloch thought about how compassion naturally spreads among people in the face of disaster and how, as lifeguards working closely with the Red Cross, she and her peers could raise funds and awareness of B.C.’s own natural disaster management programs.

“If I learned one thing from the Japan disaster it was that preparation saves lives,” she recalls.

An honours student in world literature at the Surrey campus, Tulloch’s passion for children’s literature is charting her course towards the future’s horizon.

She was recently accepted into the prestigious Institute for World Literature at Harvard University this summer, and into UBC’s Master of Arts in Children’s Literature program this fall.

Tulloch plans to continue her research related to nonsense poetry and how it can help to improve children’s literacy by helping them think creatively about written language.

“Nonsense teaches children to critically reflect on the conventions that govern standard language practices and to question the messages words communicate,” says Tulloch.

Among long-term goals, Tulloch hopes to have an impact on youth by becoming a writer of children’s books.