Travelling almost 1,400 kilometres for work may not be ideal for everyone but it became a reality or me last month. For the second time this summer, I embarked on a long and hopefully worthwhile journey to find employment.
In May, I travelled to Bonnyville, Alberta to take on a sports reporter position and I thoroughly enjoyed it, but the opportunity to come back to British Columbia was something I couldn't pass up - and from what I've seen of Squamish so far I think I've made the right choice.
The town is beautiful, the people are friendly and the weather has been great.
I come to Squamish after two fun-filled months at the Bonnyville Nouvelle. Prior to that I successfully graduated from Vancouver's Langara College journalism program.
Langara is home to Western Canada's longest running journalism school, and I hope to use the skills I learned to entertain and inform The Chief's readers.
Sports have always been a passion of mine. I played hockey, soccer and baseball on organized teams, and what I lacked in height I always tried to make up for in effort.
I liked everything about sports from the competition, to the teamwork to the joy of victory balanced with the agony of defeat.
After coming to the realisation that I was never going to be drafted by a National Hockey League team, I decided that the best way to stay involved with sports was to delve into journalism.
I read newspapers from an early age and have always loved reading, writing and learning new things so journalism was a natural fit.
While still in school, I freelanced for the British Columbia Hockey League appearing both in their monthly Smart Hockey magazine along with bi-weekly features on various players throughout the league on their website.
The experience taught me the fervour that small town Canada has for their local teams. The local hockey team is a huge source of pride for any small town and from what I've heard Squamish is no different.
I'm already looking forward to the upcoming hockey season and plan to satisfy the appetites for Wolfpack news.
When the Winter Olympics came to Vancouver, I was one of the thousands of blue shirt adorning volunteers and it was an amazing experience. I worked for the Olympic News Service, specifically covering women's hockey but also covering a few men's games as well.
Getting to interview Daniel Alfredsson of the Ottawa Senators was a thrill I won't soon forget but the entire Olympic experience helped me grow as a journalist a great deal.
I hope to continue what seems to have been a strong tradition in Squamish for sports reporting. Sports, in my opinion, are the lifeline of the community and I plan on keeping that lifeline strong and vibrant.
