Rachel Phan Honoured at Laurier's Awards of Excellence
Congratulations to Douglas & McIntyre author Rachel Phan, who has been named Laurier's Alumna of the Year and is featured in a new profile celebrating her journey from Wilfrid Laurier University (Brantford campus) student to national bestselling author.
In the feature, Phan reflects on how her time at Laurier helped her find her voice as a writer. Through opportunities with the student newspaper, mentorship from faculty and encouragement from her peers, she gained the confidence to tell the stories that would eventually become her acclaimed memoir, Restaurant Kid.
Published in 2025, Restaurant Kid became a national bestseller. In the memoir, Phan explores family, identity, and belonging through the lens of growing up in her immigrant parents' Chinese restaurant, offering a warm, candid, and deeply moving account of the cross-generational immigrant experience.
Read Laurier's full feature on Rachel Phan here.