Courtney Miceli

I am twenty years old and I have attended Ryerson University for two years. Last year, I began as a student in the Arts and Contemporary Studies program, but unfortunately, I quickly discovered that my passions lay elsewhere. I applied to transfer to Ryerson's journalism program and I am proud to say that I am currently a first year student doing what I love most: writing. My highest hope is that I will eventually land a career in journalism in which travelling is a requirement. Of course my dream job is to write for National Geographic, but in the meantime I will remain concerned with gaining the experience and skill set to reach that level of accomplishment. Since moving to the downtown core of Toronto last year, I have been practicing yoga and it has become an integral part of my life. I have also done some exploring into community based journalism, which has bettered both my personal and my professional experience in the city. I began writing newsletters for a non-profit organization called 6 St. Joseph House: The Yellow Door Learning Center where I really had a chance to utilize the core skills of journalism. Apart from meeting and interviewing amazing individuals, writing for this NPO allows me to write on content that I enjoy. 6 St. Joseph House is very artistically driven, so it kind of led me into my next venture of writing. I began writing reviews for an art blog called Xeroxr on art galleries in the Toronto area. Both of these experiences genuinely helped me grow as a journalist and paved a short path to where I am now. A few months ago I began writing articles here and there for a rapidly-expanding blog called Toronto is Awesome. I can prudly say that I am now the arts editor, a position that has allowed to me to explore my passions on an entirely new level.