“Cricket is not just an import sport. It’s a welcome mat and a landing pad for generations of Canadians.” So writes Perry King, BJ’09, in his book Rebound: Sports, Community and the Inclusive City. In it, Perry examines how sports and sporting…
For the past two years, Alanna Robinson has been taking a break from a fifteen-year career in corporate law to be a stay-at-home parent with her two kids, Charlie (3) and Sophie (6), and also to ponder what her next career move may be. The King’s…
Two years before applying to the MFA program at King’s, Catherine Fogarty read an article in the Globe and Mail about a 1971 riot at Kingston Penitentiary, Ontario. It struck her as surprising that she had never heard of it before. She cut out the…
As Justin Trudeau’s official photographer, Adam Scotti is closer to history in the making than most. His road to the ringside seat began simply enough. In 2011, Adam volunteered in Trudeau’s campaign office while finishing his degree at McGill.…
“I used to be a fiction writer but I don’t write fiction anymore,” Lesley Buxton, MFA’16, explains. “I love fiction. I was very close to having a publishable book when my daughter got ill. I have never been able to go back.“ Instead, Lesley turned…
Don Campbell, BJ’83, has some words of advice for journalism students. “Think about both sides, ”he says. “It really can be rewarding.” The “both sides” Don is talking about are journalism and public relations. He knows each of them well. He…
‘Finding the story in the everyday’ is the guiding and core principle of Lindsay Cameron Wilson’s work. As a food writer, recipe developer and host of The Food Podcast, Lindsay has been leaning on this core principle more than ever, with COVID-19…
Out of the hundreds of Polaroids taped to her wall Ellery Platts points to one in particular. “It’s a picture of a friend standing on the library steps at King’s,” she explains. “ It was during orientation week in my first year. Someone had to go…
“It’s pretty spooky…” says Travis Devonport. He’s talking about an exhibit he helped put together for 2020’s Hallowe’en at Alderney Landing in Dartmouth. It’s a collection of ghost stories Travis gathered from former residents of Africville, the…
Lyndsie Bourgon has her writing sights set on poachers. Tree poachers. “Poaching wood around the world is incredibly lucrative,” Lyndsie says, then adds, “but people don’t always pay much attention to it because trees don’t have the same kind of…
“All things are possible,” says Eleanor Beaton. “It’s really about cultivating the belief in what you want to achieve.” That’s what Eleanor tells her clients. Eleanor is an award-winning entrepreneur, podcast host, keynote speaker and women’s…
Lisa Blackburn stands outside for three hours on a cold December morning as Halifax pauses to remember the horrific events of more than a century ago–the Halifax Explosion. She is here to commemorate. She is here to deliver remarks of remembrance…
Corbett Hancey is an investigative journalist. He has undergrad degrees from McGill and King’s and a Master’s degree from King’s College in London. He’s been awarded two prestigious fellowships. He’s been embedded with the Lebanese military. He’s…
Photo: Joan Baxter in November 2018 in southern Burkina Faso, with Roger Guibre (left), Thierry Bayala (centre), and Armand Bayala (right). Whether it’s reporting on a revolution in Burkina Faso, a failed coup d’état in Cameroon, or the prospect…
To understand how Meagan Campbell managed to land a full time job at a national newspaper just as she graduated, or how she had had a full time position at Maclean’s magazine for three years in between the third and fourth year of her journalism…
Paul Brothers is nothing if not strategic. He figures out what he wants, then he figures out how to get it. “I had a goal when I was a teenager that I would be on national television as a sports anchor before I turned thirty,” Paul says, a little…
It took a motorcycle accident in Mexico, six weeks of recovery and some soul searching, but Sofia Ortega finally figured it out. “I was having a very nice life making money, but I wasn’t happy.” she says. “I wasn’t doing what I was meant to do. I…
It was the day before Encaenia 2018 and Angel Moore had a job interview. She had applied to the Aboriginal People’s Television Network (APTN) for a summer internship. But after meeting with management at the network she was advised to apply for a…
Victoria Foley had no idea when she was at King’s that a career in politics beckoned from the future. She was just enjoying the Foundation Year Program (FYP) and then, studying journalism. “It taught me to have an open mind,” Victoria says. “It…
“My goal is to provide a place for new voices,” Sherri Borden Colley says, “and to give people the chance to tell their stories.” Sherri is in a unique position to do just that. She is one of only a few black reporters in Nova Scotia. Over the two…
Dalia Lourenço found herself in Luanda, the capitol of Angola on the west coast of Africa. She had a contract with the United Nations to help with communications for vaccination programs. One was for an ongoing battle against polio. She found a man…
Laura Armstrong knew it would be tough finding a job in journalism after graduating. “I gave myself five years to find a career in this industry,” she says, knowing that the writing and communications skills she developed at King’s would help her…
Adrienne Bernstein just wasn’t sure it was the right fit. She landed a job as an editorial assistant at CBC in Toronto right after graduating from King’s. In the fourteen months she was there she went from operating the teleprompter and delivering…
Wanda Taylor is probably one of the busiest people you’ll ever meet. If you ask her what she does she’ll say, “I am an author, an educator and a social justice activist. I’m also an artist and I try to incorporate all of that into everything I do.”…
“I was a poor, young Mennonite woman from the Prairies with little children. I was of no account to the world. I was nothing.” That could so easily be the beginning of a novel. But it is not. It is Miriam Toews talking about who she was when she…
Adrian Lee knows there is much more of the Canadian story to be told. And as the opinions editor at Maclean’s magazine he can help tell it through the voices not always heard. He says he wants the opinions section, which he edits and curates, to be…
When Michael Dick was growing up in Thunder Bay, Ontario, he hadn’t heard the Latin phrase - A posse ad esse - From a possibility to an actuality. It’s the town motto for Fort William, one of the two cities that joined to become Thunder Bay. It…
Stephanie McGrath says, “companies and organizations are starting to realize the only way they can reach people is with interesting stories.” And for a content strategist, that’s great news. Stephanie works for VERB Interactive in Halifax as Vice…
John MacLean is doing work he never knew he wanted to do, in a place he never knew he wanted to be. He loves both. John is a lawyer with the Legal and Constitutional Law Division of the Nunavut Department of Justice in Iqaluit, just south of the…
In a verse penned some time ago, Shauntay Grant writes, ”My mother says when I was young I’d follow her, room-to-room, asking the same question: ’Why’? I think that ever since I’ve been asking. I hope I never find the answers. It’s the questions…
Arwen Kidd has never been one to take the easy path. While a student at King’s, she spent a summer in Romania, researching her honours thesis on post-Communist media. A three-month journalism internship chasing stories in Accra, Ghana, gave her a…
A year at King’s led Andrew Murphy to play a role in redefining Canada’s LGBT landscape by showcasing the best in queer film with Inside Out. Having completed a degree in anthropology at Saint Mary’s University straight out of high school, Andrew…
Having worked as a producer, reporter and anchor for ATV and CTV for 23 years, it appears that Starr Cunningham’s success as a journalist may have been preordained. As it turns out, Starr had her first byline in fourth grade, as a contributor to…
In a small village in northern Ghana where food is sometimes scarce, where life is sometimes short, where girls traditionally can’t go to school, there is a plot of land. If Shahadu Abdul Somed gets his way that plot of land will be the site of a…
A gunman was on the loose. Three RCMP officers were dead, two seriously wounded. Parts of Moncton were in lockdown. The hunt for Justin Bourque was in full swing. It was June 5, 2014. Jonna Brewer, as host of CBC Radio’s Information Morning in…
How do you go from a two-room schoolhouse in rural PEI to becoming a leading voice in new media and technology? According to Amber MacArthur, even just one year at the University of King’s College makes all the difference. Described by Canadian…
Marie-France LeBlanc was still new to the world of public relations in 1995. She had worked as a journalist with the CBC right after graduating from King’s, but an opportunity to work with the media on behalf of the Prime Minister’s Office during…
Leah Collins Lipsett can plunk out a tune on a ukulele, but she is more at home at a piano. She began playing at the age of six and talks proudly of her final recital to earn her Bachelor of Music degree from King’s and Dalhousie. She nailed it,…
Karen McColl was anxious. She had to find the right gear, contact the right people and she had to find a travelling companion. She had a little more than a month to do it all. “But,” she says, “Once I dipped my paddle in the water it was all good.”…
“My motto is ‘just say yes’,” says Samuelle – Sam – Mednick. Pragmatic and direct, Sam has spent her career following stories across the world. “I never loved school,” says Sam of her high school years in Toronto, “So a general BA would not have…
Jessica Davey-Quantick is a force to be reckoned with. Not tied to any specific genre, she has followed her passion for research and storytelling from Halifax to Qatar to Yellowknife. Growing up in Kingston, Ontario, Jessica had worried that her…
Sit down with Patric Senson for even five minutes and you’ll hear at least one story, if not three. Or four. He’ll tell you stories about working with CBC Radio as a science journalist for a decade. He’ll tell you about how one day, sitting in a…
Chris Putnam has a job tailor made for the curious. He’s a communications officer at the University of Saskatchewan. One of his responsibilities is to profile researchers engaged in fascinating work. “Everyone’s got a story and a personality,” says…
For more than three months, Juliet Williams rifled through box after box, poring over paper files. She was researching a story on the California government’s failure to adequately track teachers accused of sexual misconduct. The state refused to…
Catharina de Waal is driven by career and passion. She works at a boutique public relations firm in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she’s already earned a promotion. Prior to joining the firm, she worked on government contracts, helping establish…
“I remember being 12 years old, watching sports commentators on TV. I thought that was such an amazing job, and at that moment, it was, ‘I want to do that.’ That’s what I wanted to do, and I stayed with it.” Her determination served her well: in…
In her final year at King’s, Angela Chang didn’t know whether she would qualify for her degree by the time semester ended. She was the first student to attempt a combined degree with Saint Mary’s University, and the reciprocal agreement was not yet…
Journalist, author and communications advisor Chad Lucas uses storytelling to bring people together. For someone with dreams of being a reporter, Chad Lucas’ working life began exactly where a graduate would want to end up. Chad’s four-year…
Monica Mutale began her Journalism studies at King’s uncertain about the industry and her future. Since graduating into the workforce, Monica has come to this realization: “the future is bright, and I have many opportunities because of the training…
This is the same Stephanie Nolen who has won seven National Newspaper Awards, five Amnesty International Media Awards, and numerous other accolades. Her book, 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa, was nominated for the Governor General’s Literary Award.…
Liam Hyland hand-delivered his application to former King’s journalism director Kim Kierans, unsure if his high school marks would be good enough. “On paper it may not look great, but if you give me a chance, I’ll show you that I can do it,”…
When Barb Stegemann won the chance to make her pitch on the CBC-TV program Dragons’ Den, she drew upon her experiences at King’s and ended up becoming the first woman from Atlantic Canada to score a deal on the show. “Just like they taught us in…
To say that Robyn Tingley wears many hats is an understatement. As the CEO of her company GlassSKY, an honorary Lieutenant Colonel with the Canadian Army and founder of social enterprise CalChique, Robyn is extremely busy making social change. A…
When Pete Pachal started the one-year Bachelor of Journalism at King’s, he was immediately struck by the school’s sense of support and community. “Everybody who was there wanted to be there. When you have people who really want to work hard, great…
It was a Sunday night in June 2013. Ruth Spencer was in her tiny New York apartment with a few colleagues from The Guardian US where she was Community Editor. Edward Snowden, the man who had leaked thousands of documents from the American National…
It could be a mass shooting like the one in Las Vegas in the fall of 2017. Or a van plowing into pedestrians along a Toronto street in the spring of 2018. If it is a big story Emanuella Grinberg will be at her desk at CNN in Atlanta writing. She’s…
Chelcie Soroka has been asked the question probably hundreds of times: Why take a journalism degree and then go to medical school? She has perfected the short answer. “I always knew I was going to go into medicine and become a psychiatrist,” she…
Growing up in Ottawa the son of a Toronto Star reporter, David’s early role models for an international reporting career included his friends’ parents who were diplomats and foreign correspondents like the CBC’s Matthew Halton and Joe Schlesinger.…