About Me

Hello, my name is Isabella Disley. I am an aspiring journalist/photographer, based in Ottawa, Ontario. I am an alumnus of the University of Ottawa and Algonquin College. When I’m not writing stories or capturing memories, I am running my small business, Thriftin n Thrivin.

I am 22 years old and I was born in Fujian, China, prior to being adopted by a Canadian family. I am an only child, and I know myself to be introverted. I am someone who quickly gained independence and reliance on myself. I was raised in a loving home in Ottawa, Ontario. My upbringing brought me joy, hope, and a creative imagination. I found artistic passions and hobbies that drive me to strive for personal success. Growing up, it came to my attention that I was a perfectionist. However, I attest to using that motivation within my career and life goals moving forward.

I was a freelance videographer and social media content creator for the Ottawa Sports Council/Ottawa Sports Awards. I am the producer of the Lifetime Achievement and Mayor’s Cup awards videos that were filmed for the Ottawa Sports Awards at the Infinity Convention Centre on Feb. 4.

I produced five short videos for the Ottawa Sports Awards’ Instagram. These videos consisted of interviews filmed at the awards banquet with the coaches and teams of the year, as well as the spirit of sport winner. 

Using previous knowledge from my photography, journalistic, and academic experiences, my first taste of videography and social media included organizing dates to conduct the interviews, filming b-roll footage at various locations, and editing sequences on different platforms to create the final products. 

As a reporter for the Ottawa Sports Pages, I had the privilege of illustrating the happenings and excellencies of local teams and athletes through articles and photographs during my freelance assignments, their 8-week summer position and internship.

Most recently, I have written many freelance pieces for OSP over the past few months. I wrote about the NCSSAA Football City Championship. More notably, I wrote a seven-story series about the NCSSAA XC City Championships, which included results, recaps and features highlighting all six divisions, leading up to the OFSAA Championships.

During my summer position, I wrote 14 stories, including the OFSAA East Regional and NCSSAA track and field championships, OFSAA boys’ soccer championships, and the Volleyball Canada Youth National Championships.

During my internship, I wrote 16 stories, including the 2025 BioSteel University Cup, Critelli Cup, OCAA basketball championship, and the Canadian Ringette Championships.

Throughout my time with OSP, I gained experience and a higher level of skill and knowledge in photography, image editing, storytelling, interviewing, journalism, media, and communications.

As a contributor to the Youth Mind, Women Quest, and Business Hub publications, I pitched and wrote a minimum of three stories per week, during the summer of 2025.

After only writing about sports for the past few months, I had the refreshing opportunity to branch out with the topics I wrote about during my time with OLDF.

I wrote a total of 21 stories, including personal experiences within my academics and life, to spotlighting Canadian small businesses in Ontario. I also tapped into a bit of graphic design on Canva to create cover photos for some of my stories.

During my academic studies, I was a reporter for the Algonquin Times for the 2024 semesters. I’ve written stories including the Ottawa Cat Show, Midday Picnic, a first-person story, and news briefs.

As an Algonquin Times reporter, I immersed myself in the college community, covering on-campus events and connecting with fellow Algonquin students and staff. I’ve also had the opportunity to work off-campus with small businesses and pop-up events in Ottawa.

I love thrifting and have been an avid thrift shopper for many years! I am the owner of Thriftin n Thrivin, an Instagram small business where vintage and new-age clothes in inclusive sizing are curated! I’m dedicated to finding pieces clients WANT and NEED to spice up their wardrobes!

I have been a vendor at over 10 Ottawa-based pop-up markets, where I’ve made connections with customers and other small businesses. I also run my business on Poshmark!

Instagram: @_thriftin_n_thrivin

Poshmark: @thriftinthrive