Andy Sparling: Professor of broadcast journalismAndy Sparling, a recent winner of Loyalist's teaching excellence award, has taught broadcast journalism since 1987. A graduate of Carleton University's journalism program, he has been helped lead the implementation of new teaching technologies in the college system. He is also involved with providing Third World discovery-type travel for students.

His journalism background includes:

-radio news parliamentary correspondent, municipal affairs and sports reporter/anchor
-television news reporter, assignment editor, producer, assistant news director

When I decided to go back to school after graduating from the print program in my hometown of Niagara Falls and working full-time for a few years, I came across the e-journalism program at Loyalist College and it fulfilled everything that I had a passion for.

Loyalist College's School of Journalism is -- and continues to be -- one of the finest of its kind in the country. Excellence and dedication by teaching staff backed by a solid roster of successful graduates makes Loyalist a surefire choice for any young writer or photographer wishing to pursue a career. After graduating in the late 1980s, I am still gainfullly employed two decades later and working in the Middle East for the largest English speaking media organization in the region.

I graduated Loyalist College's print journalism program circa 2000 and have been working in the field ever since.
As a naive new journalist however, my initial job search didn't exactly go as planned. After completing my internship at The Guardian newspaper in PEI, I moved to Ottawa where I "would be certain" to find a writing gig at some international rag, or so I thought. I wound up taking another job, not in journalism, but six months later I found myself writing for the Port Hope Evening Guide, a little daily newspaper very close to home.

The idea of leaving my full-time job and returning to school to pursue a new career was daunting, but once the decision was made there was only one choice for me – Loyalist College.

Their photojournalism and e-journalism programs are the best, as are the teachers who bring their years of experience, and themselves to each class.

While these courses are intense and demanding, this is a journey well worth taking.

I graduated confident in my abilities, surrounded by new friends and colleagues, and looking forward to the future.

Journalism is a good career choice because you are always learning something new. Everyday can be different and exciting. You have many options in the field of journalism. It could be in production paginating and editing, it could be community news or investigative journalism. It's a versatile field.
A career in journalism allows you the opportunity to stay current with what is happening in your world and a journalist is dedicated to relaying that information.

In the news, community college enrollments go up as the jobless rate increases, and Ontario Provincial Police officers return to more traditional headgear.

In Sports.... a Belleville girls hockey tournament remembers Don Sanderson; the Trenton Hercs call it quits, and the Loyalist women's basketball team looks to turn it around in the season's second half.

Without exception, the faculty in the media department at Loyalist college are dedicated, passionate, incredibly knowledgeable professionals. In two years, through kindness, patience, and hard work, they taught me everything I needed to know about the craft of journalism; they also taught me how to be a professional human being.

I look back at my time at Loyalist with only fond memories, and I am happy to count my former faculty not only as mentors and colleagues but as cherished friends.

John Pigeau
Novelist
Print Journalism 2000

My experience Loyalist College's print journalism program was by far one of the most rewarding of my life. Not only was I guided by some of the most supportive and understanding professors but I was given the opportunity to travel to Cameroon, Africa to document Rotary International as they vaccinated one million children for polio. This opportunity profoundly shaped the years of my life to come - both professionally and consciously.

Dawna MacIvor
Fast-track print journalism 1996-97
Public relations

I think journalism is a challenging career choice, looking at what's happening in newsrooms across the country and the further staff cuts taking place. But it's exciting if you have a personality that is determined, focused and highly adaptable.