People's Generosity Further Fuels My Passion for Journalism

I have had to endure more stress and sacrifice in the last five months than I ever have before. That is just what happens when you are a CreComm Student. I have had days and weeks that I thought I would never get through and I am man enough to admit that I have even shed a few tears. The stress of this program has meant that my wife has had to make sacrifices too and I am so thankful for her
support.

With all that being said there are moments in CreComm when I have had to stop and remember how lucky I am to be in this program. Last night was one of those moments. I've been hosting a sports show every Thursday along with my great friends Tyler and Jenna and it has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. I still get a thrill and a bit nervous every time I walk into the studio. I take pride in the show and love what we are doing with it.

Last night we had Darren Ford as a guest and he may not be a household name to all Winnipegers but he is definitely one to Jets fans and someone I knew of for years. His blog started as a humble forum to get the conversation going about getting the NHL back in Winnipeg, and became so successful that he now runs the Winnipeg Free Press fan forum. He has also become close friends with many of the people involved with the Jets, including Mark Chipman.

He was also featured prominently in the Winnipeg Jets documentary "Fuelled by Passion" which aired nationally on CBC and does interviews regularly on TSN 1290. I sent Darren a simple Tweet inquiring if he'd consider coming on the show and thought I would get ignored. Next thing I knew he sent me a message saying he'd do the next show and he was fantastic through the whole interview.

What amazes me most about being a CreComm student is how gracious people have been to me when I ask for an interview. Back In November Tyler called the Blue Bombers to ask if we could have a Bomber on the show and I laughed it off. Next thing I knew the Bombers called us an hour before a show to tell us that star running back Chris Garrett was going to join us. The Garrett interview was amazing and he never treated us any less than the big wigs at TSN or CJOB.

In December I attended a state of the province address and walked right up to Bomber coach Paul LaPolice. There was media from every major outlet in the city there, but he was more than willing to talk to me and give me just as much of his time as he did for anyone else.

I started CreComm thinking that nobody important would want to talk to me because I am not a journalist but merely a "student journalist." Nothing could be farther from the truth. Had anyone told me in September that I would have talked to Chris Garrett, Paul Lapolice, Brian Dobie and Darren Ford this year I would have laughed but now I have.

I am so thankful for the time people have given me and how gracious everyone has been. It is always a thrill when I interview new people for reports or for my show. I have always dreamed of being a journalist and my experiences in CreComm and with the great people I have met has only made me want a career in journalism even more.

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