Hi all, my name is Andrew Halipchuk and I am the new community and news reporter for Rocky View Publishing.
I’m a transplanted Manitoban living in Calgary with my cousin and his dog (not a fan of her). I moved to Calgary from my small lakeside town of Matlock back in 2008 right after graduating high school with the aspiration of graduating from the University of Calgary (UofC) and pursuing a career in chemistry. Unfortunately three years after moving to Calgary with this great plan in mind, I decided to stop attending the UofC after “falling out of love with school.” I found my first semester at university extremely difficult after moving two provinces away from my home and family and I was never able to fully bounce back over the following three years.
After leaving university – much to my parent’s dismay – I started working full time at a retail store. During my year off, I realized I wanted to return to school and get something to show for my time out here.
Sharing information and researching has always been an interest of mine starting way back when I was five years old reading the backs of hockey cards and asking my dad how many points Theo Fleury had in the 1991-92 NHL season, to browsing this amazing thing called the Internet in the 2000s where I could find information on anything and everything my little mind could imagine.
One career I considered for myself was radio broadcasting due to my love of sharing information, talking, sports and music. I’ve always believed I have a face for radio, so it seemed like a no-brainer for me. When I told my father of this potential career choice, he quickly shutdown that idea and explained it was difficult finding a job in the industry.
A friend of mine who had attended the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in Calgary, told me how great it was because of its hands-on experience and instructors who worked in the industry. SAIT seemed like the place for me and I knew just what industry I wanted to do… journalism.
When I entered SAIT, all I wanted to be was a sports journalist/reporter, because of my love of sports and failed attempts at being an athlete (I played hockey and soccer for 10 years, football for five and curled for eight years).
I wanted to give myself the best opportunity to work as close as I could to what I loved. I focused mainly on sports writing, but I understood I had to be able to do more than just write sports if I wanted a long career in journalism.
During my second semester at SAIT, I began writing for the school newspaper, The Weal, as a contributor picking up the odd story here and there, usually in opinions or sports sections. At the end of my second semester I was offered an opportunity to interview for the position of sports writer with The Weal, which I was fortunate enough to get.
My year as the sports writer with The Weal was a great one, I was able to write about what I loved, while finishing my final year in school and was still able to work a pair of part-time jobs. I wrote roughly two stories per week, leaving room for first-years to get some of their own articles in a paper, much like I did in my first year.
Last March, during my final semester at SAIT, we were required to find an unpaid practicum, which would help us gain “real world” experience outside of the school and The Weal. I was fortunate enough to get a practicum set up with the Calgary Flames media team, a true dream come true.
But now I begin my first job in the industry, an industry that I have tried so hard to get into. I hope that you enjoy reading what I enjoy writing in the years to come.
