Four recent graduates from Niagara College’s Broadcasting – Radio, Television and Film program participated in a webinar via Zoom on April 30, offering advice and inspiration to current students.
Although each participant has taken a different path after graduating from NC, together the group shares a commonality: they are all young women making their mark in the Canadian broadcasting industry.
The panelists included Kelsey Scobie, who graduated in 2016 and is currently a freelance associate producer/producer with Rogers Sportsnet and CBC, two alumnae from the class of 2017 including Kianna Klauck, an EVS/reply operator with Dome Productions, and Kristyn Taras, a second engineer with Dome Productions. Lexie Laus, who graduated in 2018 and is currently a production coordinator at so.da, Corus Entertainment’s full-service social digital agency, joined them.
Drawing from their own experiences, the alumnae offered valuable insights into what it looks like to work in a fast-paced industry that can change in an instant – like the current COVID-19 pandemic that has cancelled or postponed many major sporting events. For the alumnae working in the sports broadcasting world, the pandemic has put a stop to their regular assignments.
Klauck would have been working on the Toronto Raptors’ home show productions, instead, she came back home to Port Colborne and is spending time sharpening her editing skills and introducing her mother to popular Canadian television sitcom Schitt’s Creek.
Like Klauck, Taras would have also been working on the production end of the Raptors’ games with her fellow crew of engineers – for now, she is taking it day-by-day at home in St. Catharines.
From her condo in Toronto, Scobie explained that her assignments with Air Canada Fan Flight and Kraft Hockeyville, which would have aired during the NHL playoffs, are on hold.
While plans have changed for some, the group remains positive and looks forward to the day the world gets back on track. In the meantime, the alumnae shared career highlights and favourite moments from their time in the industry so far.
For Laus, who has been working remotely from home in Grimsby, a recent highlight has been working on her first sponsored series Made You Look, a so.da original in partnership with Slice and Pinterest.
Klauck, a former basketball player with the NC Knights, enjoys contributing to the production side of the sport. She said her adrenaline still gets pumping from behind-the-scenes, especially when she had the opportunity to work the robo cams during Kawhi Leonard’s most notable home game in the Toronto Raptor’s 2019 championship run.
Taras also recalled working the Raptor’s final run last year and spoke about her love for travel through her job – she has travelled to Las Vegas on multiple occasions to work the World Series of Poker.
Scobie, who has enjoyed storytelling from a young age, has been part of the Rogers Hometown Hockey team since season two of the Sportsnet series. With CBC, she has helped produce multiple Calgary Stampedes over the years and had the opportunity to work on the 2016 Rio Olympics. She landed her dream job, working as an associate producer for the Olympic prime time show and was heartbroken when the games were postponed due to the pandemic.
“You need to stay positive and surround yourself with positive people always,” said Scobie. “Don’t get down because the world turned off, the light will turn back on.”
BRTF program coordinator Dutch VandenBerg, who invited his former students to participate in the virtual webinar, is proud of the alumnae for all they have accomplished in their careers so far.
“These four young women are at the heart of major productions and new content delivery in the industry,” said VandenBerg. “They are incredibly inspiring and amazing role models for all of our students – not just the females – although, that is who really resonated with the group’s discussion.”
For female students listening in, it was encouraging to hear the group share positive stories from their experiences as women in an industry that has traditionally been male dominated.
Taras told students to always remember that there are other women in the industry willing to help you, while Laus highlighted that her workplace consists of mostly women – about 80 percent. Scobie, who has been working in the industry the longest of the group, spoke about how she has been fortunate to work with many talented women in sports broadcasting including Alison Redmond, executive producer of Rogers Hometown Hockey on Sportsnet.
“The culture of women working in sport is growing,” said Scobie. “It’s important to note that men and women bring something different to the table – they’re wired differently and think differently as a result.”
To Scobie, these differences are beneficial and help a broadcast team create quality content that speaks to every audience.
Not just girl talk: Advice from the alumnae
The group also offered sound advice for all students and recent graduates eager to get started in the industry.
Laus: Do not be afraid to step outside of your comfort zone – people notice when you are willing to do things others are not.
Taras: Say yes to everything, ask for feedback and try not to dwell on your mistakes.
Scobie: Take every opportunity that comes your way, especially the recurring assignments – consistency looks great on a resume.
Klauck: Be passionate and never forget that there are good things coming.
The words of wisdom proved to be encouraging for BRTF students, who appreciated hearing from the young women who were in their shoes not long ago.
Jenna Trew, a soon-to-be third-year BRTF student majoring in TV production, found the webinar motivating and inspiring.
“For me, the webinar was a great experience to hear stories from our very own female grads,” said Trew. “I am someone who has struggled a lot with trying to figure out what I want to do in my future and this was an amazing opportunity to get advice from females currently working in the industry and to learn of job positions I had never thought of.”
Trew also found the experience helpful in easing her post-graduation worries – a common stressor for students wondering where they will end up after college.
“Before speaking with these women, I was feeling very stressed and overwhelmed about my future but listening to their success stories made me feel motivated and inspired, especially during this time,” said Trew. “It’s really great that Niagara College and our program can offer these kinds of things and I think it’s important to continue to inspire and empower young women in these ways.”
Trew’s classmate, Jensen Croughan, who is also majoring in TV production and going in to her third year, appreciated the raw discussion and opportunity to make connections with young professionals already working in the industry.
“I felt that the webinar was a valuable way to spend my afternoon as the girls had great stories and advice about their experiences in the industry,” said Croughan. “I valued that they all opened up about their ups and downs of figuring out where they belonged in the broadcasting world and I appreciated the group’s invitation to reach out in the future with any career questions. That made me feel relaxed about the upcoming semester, knowing that if I ever needed advice, they would be happy to help.”
Student Al Johnson, who just completed her final year of the BRTF program, was encouraged to hear from other female grads from the program.
“Our industry is very male dominated so it makes me feel good to see these boss women working hard in the same industry I will soon be entering as well,” said Johnson. “I love that no matter how busy they were, and considering what is happening in the world, the group still had time to talk to students taking the same path they started on as well. I hope that one day I’ll be in the same spot sharing my own stories to BRTF students.”
The group is among a series of NC Broadcasting alumni to participate in webinars for students. Other webinars have included:
- Letterkenny producer and NC alumnus Mark Montefiore on March 31;
- Professional AI mixer Andrew Stoakley (lead mixer for Toronto Blue Jays) on April 7;
- A group panel of on-air radio/TV talent who are recent alumni, including Sarah Christie, Lucas Chittick Rodriguez, Shannon Burns and Josie Balka on April 10;
- A group panel of freelance crew with Dome Production including Greg Otterbein, Eli Kiriakopoulos and Austin Munday on April 29;
- Production engineers Reid, Will and Alex who work on every style of sports production from hockey to football to the X Games on May 1; and
- Twitch content creator and previous associate producer Mecca Eyre on May 4.
