Patrick DeRochie

Patrick DeRochie was born on the northern shores of Lake Erie in Port Colborne, Ontario, before moving as a child half an hour north to the small town of Fonthill, located in the heart of Niagara wine country. He moved to Guelph in September 2004 to pursue a BA in History and Political Science. At the University of Guelph, he became immersed in an active and engaged student community, participating in student government bodies, the Political Science Society, and various campus, provincial and federal election campaigns. After graduating with Honours from the University of Guelph in February 2009, Patrick crossed the globe and spent the spring and summer backpacking in New Zealand and Australia. He returned to Canada in September 2009 to pursue an MA in International Affairs at Carleton University's Norman Paterson School of International Affairs (NPSIA). As a graduate student, he specialized in nuclear arms control and nonproliferation, won the William Barton Award in Arms Control and Disarmament in spring 2010, and was elected Chair at the Atlantic Youth Forum, an international security conference in Wilton Park, England. He also helped plan and organize the 2010 NPSIA Benefit Soiree, a fundraiser gala for Canadian Red Cross earthquake relief in Haiti. During his MA, Patrick interned at the Rideau Institute, a progressive foreign and defence policy think tank, and worked on Parliament Hill as a parliamentary committee monitor and reporter for the Alpheus Group. Since June 2010, he has worked as an Evaluation Officer at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in Ottawa, where his duties have focused on fields as diverse as Arctic foreign policy, international police peacekeeping operations, organizational change management, and women's issues in international affairs. Outside of his academic and professional life, Patrick enjoys hockey, soccer, cycling, tennis, traveling, movies, music and cottaging.

Favourite book: Shantaram, by Gregory David Roberts

Favourite tv show: All-time: The Simpsons. More recently: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Favourite fictional character: Ron Swanson from Parks & Recreation

If you had to live in a movie/painting, which one would it be? The Matrix ... or do I already live in it?

If you were a paint colour, what would your name be? Lapis Lazuli

Favourite Toronto intersection (could be neighbourhood, I suppose): I haven't lived here long enough to determine this, so my answer is uninformed. But I'm gonna say the Distillery District because I've never had a bad time there.

If you could only bring three things to a desert island, they would be... 1) The limited edition box set of the popular cable TV series Lost, both for the situational irony and to analyze it for potential survival tips c/o John Locke. 2) A TV on which to watch Lost. 3) A satellite phone, so I can enhance my chances of getting off the island after realizing that I could not bring myself to finish watching the popular cable TV series Lost.

Favourite fresh Ontario produce (aka fruit or veg): Peaches!