........ Madi's CAS '13-'15 ........: Encounters with Canada, Journalism and Communications

Encounters with Canada, Journalism and Communications

From October 26-November 2, 2013 I had the opportunity to go to Ottawa with Encounters with Canada to learn more about our country and its nationalism, as well as more about journalism and Communications. Going there by myself I was quite nervous because I was unsure of what to expect, and what the other participants would be like, and I was happily surprised! I made amazing friends that I am still in contact with. The first day we left the Terry Fox Centre and visited the Canadian War Museum and learned more about Canada's military past. We visited the Parliament Building and sat through question period, as well as received a big tour of the building which I took in French. We attended a press conference and heard many presentations from established people in journalism, and veterans. We took part in a very special and moving remembrance day ceremony in the war cemetery with trumpets played by participants and a minute of silence. To go more in depth on what working in the field of Journalism and communications is like, we took a day trip to Montreal to the CBC Radio-Canada and took a tour of the building and a mock news cast in french. We had many opportunities in between all these activities to spend time with our new friends, watching movies, playing cards, bowling, touring Ottawa, karaoke, and having a talent show.

Going on this trip to Ottawa, it was a very new experience that taught me lots about myself, as well as a career option. I had never flown or travelled on my own before, nor had been so immersed in the french language.

CAS Learning Outcomes:

Increased their awareness of their own strengths and areas for growth

Halloween!

- Throughout the week in Ottawa, I learned a lot about Canada, and journalism, but I also learned a lot about myself. I learned that I have strengths in people interactions and communications, as I was able to connect, and talk to new people with ease and easily create new friendships. I also learned that there are many career options that require someone with good people and communication skills, and a career like that may be a good option for me. As an area of growth, I realized that I need to be more pro-active in researching different career fields and seeing what is out there. I was opened up to many new careers and jobs and I think that with more research of these I'll be able to grow in my understanding of what journalism and communications is.

Undertaken new challenges
- I wanted to challenge myself and my french-speaking. Going there I knew I wanted to improve on my comprehension and speaking of the language, and to do this, I took all the tours and presentations in French, (the Parliament, City and CBC tour) as well as the CBC news cast in french. Whilst there I tried to communicate and interact to the best of my ability with the participants who spoke French as their first language, and as a result I feel like my understanding of the language and communicating of it has really improved.

Developed new skills

At CBC Radio Canada

- Tying into undertaking new challenges, I was able to increase my understanding of french, and further develop that skill. At the CBC Canada mock-news cast, I learned how to use and operate the technology that is apart of the broadcast. I was in charge of changing the background images, as well as regulating when to play the commercials etc. Being someone who is not very comfortable with technology and who doesn't have an extensive background of technological knowledge, I was quite nervous going into it, however I learned how to utilize the machine and operate it! And it was quite fun, because of that experience, I feel more comfortable trying things that I'm not comfortable with, especially in technology.

Personal Reflections

Joining this program I planned to learn more about journalism and communications and Canada. I didn't plan on making too many friends, which to my surprise I can easily say that I made some of my best friends there from all over Canada who I still talk to months later. I learned so much about journalism and potential careers, and it really 'opened up my eyes' to possibilities. Before going, I was very excited and very nervous, I didn't know what kinds of people to expect, or what the week would look like- I felt like I went into it with a blind eye, and I'm so glad I took that risk. I honestly can not say enough amazing things about this program, not only was it fun and completely geared towards youth like me, but it was so informative, and gave me a new perspective on this career field, and helped me learn lots more about my country. Having participants from all over the country lead to many interesting and informative conversations on what other provinces and territories are like, especially the students from Nunavut! There are so many educational, and social values to this program. I returned home feeling more well rounded and educated of Canada, I came home with new skills and development, and it was a good look into what the real world is like, travelling and living for a week completely independent from your family and your norm. It made me very excited for the future, and has sparked a want to travel more, and to see more of the world, and more importantly has given me the confidence to do so.