I am glad I have been given the opportunity of an internship with Rocky View Publishing, because the people are inspiring and it’s close to home.
Although I’m not familiar with the Airdrie region, I have lived on the north edge of Calgary since I was three, and it only takes me 15 minutes to get to the office.
It’s an incredible experience to be at Rocky View Publishing and be learning hands-on journalism. This is an amazing industry and I enjoy getting out there and meeting new people.
Since being with Rocky View Publishing, it has really opened my eyes to just how much I have accomplished for myself - and it feels great.
I can’t take all the credit though, because I have been fortunate to have wonderful people in my life helping me along the way. A special thanks to my parents, my boyfriend Shane Merrick and his family, my SAIT instructors, my friends, and the people of Rocky View Publishing who have been a great help.
I’m looking forward to graduating from SAIT with my journalism diploma in April, and really discovering the lifestyle of a journalist.
On my first day of interning with Rocky View Publishing, I was sent out to cover MaXfield Inc.’s 10th year in business celebration, and unexpectedly was sent up in a scissor-lift in order to get a successful photo of all 245 employees.
It was an awesome experience, and they gifted me a company mug, so I have a memorable souvenir of my first day experiencing journalism outside of SAIT.
It is different being in this field so young, as I am only 19. Everyone around me is so much more experienced.
But don’t underestimate me just because I’m young. I may be inexperienced and I may be quiet but what I do have is a big heart.
One thing I take pride in is being named after my grandmother, Patricia Riley. She was a generous woman who was always finding ways to help others and her community. Unfortunately, she passed away in October, but I will always remember everything she taught me.
The reason I got into journalism was because I was inspired by Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth.
What changed my world was the heartbreaking fact that the polar bears are endangered.
My love for polar bears and my love for writing combined to create an interest in studying journalism.
Ever since then I carry with me a goal of saving the polar bears. People laugh but I really do want to help the innocent species.
I figure a good start would be to inform the world about what really is going on in their suffering by using my journalism skills.
Other passions of mine include reading, photography, cosmetology, helping others, the environment, and animals.
My parents tell me one of the first things I learned how to read was the newspaper, and quite frankly I’m not surprised.
I have always loved animals. My father never lets me forget the time when I was just a kid, we were travelling and I started screaming and hitting him because he wouldn’t pull over the vehicle to let me pet some bears that were on the side of the road.
We laugh about it now, but it wasn’t funny for him at the time.
My whole life I have always been surrounded by pets. My family has owned everything from your basic fish, cats and dogs, to ferrets, hedgehogs, scorpions, frogs, crabs, sharks, degus, birds, geckos, and guinea pigs.
I currently have a puppy named Rocket, he is a Chiweenie (a Chihuahua and wiener dog mix), a Pomchi named Tess (a Pomeranian and Chihuahua mix), three tabbies including Cub, Mustaine, and my dearest 16-year-old cat Link.
Also, my sixth guinea pig named Moose, who is quite the talker, never fails to tell me about his day.
I’ve always had this hope that in some way I could change the world, and I’m never going to stop trying.
