I sometimes jokingly tell people that I went to McGill because my older sister went to Queen’s – we had a one-sided rivalry as kids. While that might be what first pointed me to McGill, it was a trip to Montreal at the age of 15 that really got me excited. I was struck by the campus and how integrated it was with the urban centre.
When it came time to apply to university, I took a deep dive into McGill’s rankings and the courses available in the English Department. The cultural studies courses stood out and that became my major.
At McGill I learned to live, work with and understand people who were from all over the world, from different backgrounds and religions. I had always been a nerd interested in the world around me, and McGill proved that there were and are thousands of people like me. This was a formative experience that served me very well once I began traveling and shooting in the field as a journalist and documentarian.
WATCH: Allya Davison shares more about her McGill experience and what it's like to be honoured by her alma mater.
I make a point of letting young people know that choosing not to attend undergraduate journalism school in favour of attending McGill did not negatively impact my career; it was quite likely the opposite.
During my studies, I met many other people who also wanted to be journalists, filmmakers, and work in TV, and they all ended up at McGill rather than in specific programs for those things. Through volunteering at CKUT FM, The McGill Daily and, most importantly, TVMcGill, I grew and learned with people who were going beyond the classroom to build what they wanted to see on campus. In my day, TVM was housed under the stairs in the Shatner building next to Gerts. It was entirely self-funded, so we had to be resourceful: re-using tapes over and over and teaching ourselves and each other what we could.
I made some of my closest friends at McGill, people who I am still in touch with, who I still see, and whose advice I trust. Like me, many of them are now professional filmmakers, journalists and media workers of all kinds.
For me, journalism is not a career; it is a vocation and a pursuit of service. Before taking on my current role as Executive Producer of the Fifth Estate, I worked for various private and public broadcasters. Throughout my career I have always focused on how our reporting can serve the public. I consider mentoring the next generation of journalists part of my duty.