Every year, Edify magazine shares it’s Top 40 Under 40 – a group of Edmontonians who are making an impact on our city. This year, five MacEwan alumni made the cut, including Andrew Paul. He graduated from MacEwan’s Journalism program in 2008, and is now a communications associate at the Edmonton Community Foundation.
We caught up with him recently to discuss his career, his passions and his time at MacEwan.
How did your MacEwan experience help get you to where you are now?
I've gotten a lot of mileage out of my two-year journalism diploma from MacEwan. To complete the program, I needed to find a five-week practicum at a credited news outlet. In 2008 I found myself at SEE Magazine (now defunct). My time at MacEwan allowed me to hone my news-writing skills. My practicum at SEE turned into a staff writing position followed by a promotion to entertainment editor within two years. From there, I took a six-month editorial internship at Avenue Magazine (now called Edify). Then I moved into the world of non-profit arts marketing and communications. Knowing how the media worked helped me immensely. I was able to garner regular coverage for several clients including the Freewill Shakespeare Festival and Rapid Fire Theatre. My MacEwan education was also a key factor in being hired at Edmonton Community Foundation (ECF).
I was hired by ECF in 2011 to create and manage the foundation's Facebook page. Since then, my role has expanded to oversee ECF's quarterly print magazine (Legacy in Action) and co-produce the national, award-winning The Well Endowed Podcast. We use these platforms to tell stories about Edmonton's charitable sector and the work ECF does through its endowment funds. I don't have any formal PR training, so I rely on my journalism roots to run these projects. ECF has let me build a newsroom. We maintain a healthy stable of freelance writers, photographers, videographers and radio producers. It's a dream job.
Why are you passionate about your current work?
I am incredibly lucky to work for ECF. The foundation helps hundreds of charities. There is never a shortage of impactful, important stories to be told.
I am also very passionate about providing paid freelance work to storytellers. This becomes increasingly important as traditional media outlets continue to shrink. Being able to provide work to journalists and keep them telling stories is an important part of maintaining a healthy community. This also includes providing opportunities and mentorship to emerging journalists. One way I do this is through our work placement partnership with MacEwan's journalism program.
What would you say has been your greatest achievement so far?
I don't know how to quantify "greatest." There have been national podcast awards, magazine awards and newspaper awards over the years. But I don't see those as my greatest achievements. One of the most fulfilling moments of my career happened about a month ago. Edify called me to fact check my Top 40 profile. On the other end of the line was a former intern of mine from MacEwan's journalism program. After her practicum at ECF, she landed an internship at Edify. It's funny how things come full circle. I recall my time at Avenue fact checking and writing Top 40 profiles. It's wonderful to know that graduates from MacEwan are finding some of the same opportunities that were afforded to me when I was starting out. I love keeping an eye on the careers of my former interns. It's great to see them grow and find their own successes.
What lesson did you learn at MacEwan that you still carry with you today?
Learning how to identify credible sources of information has been invaluable. Nothing is more useful to a journalist than arming themselves with verifiable facts that they can take with them while covering a story. A close second is maintaining a sense of unbridled curiosity. Be willing to listen and consider all points of view. Be ruthless weighing them against your reliable research.Also, every writer needs an editor.
Read Andrew’s Top 40 Under 40 profile.