Editor’s note: Sudbury.com has welcomed an Algonquin College journalism student into the newsroom. For the next five weeks, Kaitlyn Lemay will be diving head first into being a working reporter. To help you, our readers, get to know her a little bit better, she wrote this op-ed to introduce herself to the community.
Finding my footing in the Sudbury.com newsroom has opened my eyes to what a future in journalism could look like. All it took to get here was figuring out what I didn't want in a career.
I was the type of kid who always knew what I wanted to be when I grew up, even if that changed every year. Throughout my childhood, I never said I wanted to be a journalist, yet here I am interning at Sudbury.com, working through my last requirement to graduate and I can finally see a career path opening ahead of me.
My road to journalism has not always been a clear one. I always thought I knew what I wanted for myself. When I went to the University of Ottawa for communications and suddenly couldn't see a future for myself anymore, I felt defeated.
In my fourth year, I did a remote co-op with the Government of Canada. Because it was 2022 and the pandemic was still going strong, I sat trapped in my room for eight hours a day, bored and unfulfilled.
My position in media relations made me play messenger between scientists and reporters. Interesting discoveries would hit my desk, I'd write up a small brief and email blast journalists to set up interviews. Jealousy crept in while I passively watched the story leave my inbox and land in someone else's.
Working that job made me realize, "Oh, I definitely don't want this."
Pure panic set in. My mental health and grades suffered.
During what should have been my last year at the University of Ottawa, I found myself looking for a new path that would fulfill me in the future. My communications degree was a good starting point, but the work felt lacklustre, to say the least.
That's when a sad night alone in my bed led me to researching different programs and schools. I landed upon the journalism program at Algonquin College and decided to take the chance and set up a meeting with the program coordinator.
I didn't really choose journalism; it sort of found me while I was at my lowest and needed words the most. This was the most terrifying but rewarding transition of my life.
Don't get me wrong, journalism is not that far off from the ideas my childhood brain conjured up. An actress, a teacher, a radio host, and even a YouTuber all circle the idea of working with others to deliver information to an audience. But it's the stories, the reason for sharing facts and the impact it has on an audience that changes.
Journalism informs communities and gets people talking. In my short 23 years of life, I've come to the realization that many issues stem from miscommunication or misunderstandings and I want to be the one shining a light in the shadows. Engaging people in conversations is my way of knowing I can make an impact.
I knew I wanted to work with people. I knew I wanted to tell stories, and I always had an affinity for the arts and media. The ability to amplify someone else's voice and share a different perspective with the world is truly the one thing I knew would make me happy.
I want to be on the front lines of a changing world, asking questions and questioning the answers. Journalism is where I’m able to do that.
Now, I'm in my second week of a six-week field placement at Sudbury.com, which is my last requirement before graduation. Already, one week into working in a real newsroom, I can picture myself doing what I've spent the last two years studying as a full-time job. It’s a vision I could have only hoped to imagine while in school.
It's an odd feeling, starting the career you think you'll be in for the rest of your life. I can picture myself being successful, but now it's the definition of that success that keeps changing.
Some days, success is having a job with benefits, a secure income and a stable home life – the white picket fence dream. Other days, success is travelling the world and experiencing as much as I can with the time I have on this planet.
Knowing exactly what I did not want to do led me to where I am today and finally showed me the possibilities for the future. I'm about to graduate, I have real life experiences and I can finally start to see a clearer picture of the future. Even if it's not entirely set in stone or obvious, I'm okay with that unknown because I finally trust the journey.
Kaitlyn Lemay is an Algonquin College journalism school student on a placement at Sudbury.com.