KPU journalism alumni inspire future graduates at panel

Editor’s note: The Runner’s editorial team was involved with the KPU Journalism Alumni Panel as moderators and creating social media content. Sarah Mason, a Polytechnic Ink Publishing Society (PIPS) board member, was also interviewed for this story. The Runner acknowledges this and has taken steps to prevent conflicts of interest or potential bias from influencing the article.

Alumni, students, and faculty of Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s journalism department gathered at the Surrey Conference Centre on Oct. 9 for a panel and networking.

The panel discussion featured four graduates from KPU’s bachelor of journalism program: Vancouver Sun Surrey reporter Sobia Moman, Douglas College communications officer Elizabeth Douglas, CBC News Fraser Valley reporter Kier Junos, and fashion reporter Sarah Chapelle, who also is also the New York Times-bestselling author of Taylor Swift Style: Fashion Through the Eras.

Faculty of Arts Dean Shelley Boyd kicked off the panel discussion with an opening statement on the importance of journalism and communications, and how alumni events like this allow students to hear graduates’ reflections on their time at KPU and what they have been up to since.

“It’s always fascinating and really inspiring to me to hear what our graduates are doing, and the really unique and exciting career paths that their lives have taken them on,” Boyd said. “We always see such tremendous potential in our students … and then to see that come to fruition is always incredibly rewarding.”

The panelists then dove into topics ranging from the challenges they face in the newsroom to the advice they have for journalists entering the field. 

“One of the most beneficial things for me was getting to learn photography,” Moman said. “That really gave me a leg up when applying to jobs.” 

Moman got her first job at Peace Arch News fresh out of school — even before she had her convocation ceremony. 

“I was the youngest and the only non-white reporter coming into a very established paper,” she said.

“When I got my first job interview at Peace Arch News, [there] was a huge focus on being able to take photos and videos because that was really lacking in their newsroom. They had reporters who had been there for at least 20 years, so they were playing catch up to a lot of technology, whereas I could come in and already have that knowledge and experience.”

Chapelle said something that continues to stay with her, which she learned during a first-year media studies class taught by late KPU communications instructor, Katie Warfield, is that the medium is the message.

“In the work I do, fashion is the medium through which I’m deciphering something and trying to analyze a message.”

Chapelle has been covering Taylor Swift’s fashion since 2011 on her blog, Taylor Swift Style.

“Fashion being the medium instantly adds to the context of the story. Fashion is immediate — it’s visual, it’s contextual, it doesn’t exist in a vacuum. It’s part and parcel of that location, event, person, and the circumstances that happened.”

Douglas said journalism students should explore different topics to write about in their classes because it helped her when she was applying for communication jobs.

“I think a big thing in my work is being able to write about a variety of topics in a way that is both engaging and hooks the audience, but isn’t so niche it alienates your audience,” Douglas said.

It’s important to be able to provide context and weave a story, regardless of who the audience is — journalists or current and prospective students, Douglas said.

“Try to diversify your topics as much as possible. It’s great to specialize, but it’s also really good to be able to have that experience writing sports or politics. You gain so much from trying out different topics.”

When Junos began studying at KPU, there was always a strong writing foundation.

“Following my inclination to do video, it ended up insulating my skillset for jobs over the last decade or so, because there seemed to be this growing appetite in the industry for more video work,” Junos said. “Even now at CBC News … I find myself better equipped to do the whole multi-platform thing just because I have strengthened the video part of my craft.”

Prior to working at CBC News, Junos had also worked as a video journalist for CityNews Vancouver.

“I like to joke sometimes that becoming a video journalist made me a worse writer. They say, ‘Write the way that you talk,’ and that works to an extent,” Junos said. 

Third-year journalism student Sarah Mason said the success stories of alumni from the journalism program inspired her.

“It really gives me hope that I’ll be able to find a job after graduating, even if it’s not in a position I expected it to be.”