I’ve just joined the Mirror team, and I couldn’t be more excited.
I know I’m joining a talented group and a strong paper, and I’m really looking forward to being part of it – and to getting to know, and being a part of, this community.
I graduated from Carleton University with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in 2004, and I’ve been working in community journalism ever since. This is where I believe we can have the biggest impact on people’s lives. Community newspapers play such an important role in informing, educating and enlightening people about the issues, ideas and interesting people that touch their lives, and I’ve always been very grateful to be a part of that.
After university, I was the sports editor at the Chesterville Record in eastern Ontario, and then I came home to Vancouver Island and worked for Black Press newspapers in my hometown of Courtenay (the Record) and then in Ladysmith (the Chronicle).
I’ve just come back to the Island after spending eight months travelling across the country with the Communities for Veterans Foundation Ride Across Canada. We conducted a 211-day horseback ride from Victoria, B.C., to St. John’s, Nfld., to raise awareness for contemporary veterans and re-introduce Canadians to the veterans living in their communities.
About 360 veterans ranging in age from 26 to 92 joined us on the ride, as we gave them horseback riding lessons and invited them to ride with us into their communities. It may not have been community journalism, but this was another way of of bringing community together and sharing stories, and I feel like I’ve come back with an even greater desire to help people share the stories that need to be told. Being part of The Ride Across Canada was an amazing experience, and I was so lucky to get a chance to meet so many amazing people and to hear their stories and help them share those stories.
