Undergraduate / Ryerson Personal Essay 2011 - as the Beatles would say "Help!" [3]

Hi there! New to the forrums...and probably a bit late with this, because I only just discovered them, but here goes!

I'm hoping for some advice on this essay, it's been giving me a lot of trouble, and the first draft was...well...lets just say it was scary.

There were certain questions that needed to be answered, and they were:

a) 5 years after graduating from the RTA (Radio & Television) program, what type of career do you see yourself in and why? How would you and the RTA program benefit from your participation.

b) What work have you done inside or outside of school that makes you stand out as a candidate?

c) Production work in the RTA program along with the industry also involves group work. Give an example of a time when you had to work with others. What was your role? What issues arose and how were they addressed?

d) Of the courses of study available within the RTA program, which are you most interested in and why? How would the non-media related courses you complete benefit you? Make reference to specific courses.

The Essay goes as follows

It is with certainty that I can say my life would not be the same if it were not for broadcasting. From the far reaches of my earliest memories I can recall sitting with my parents and watching the news, or listening entranced to the radio for the short periods I found myself awake during long car rides. It has always been fascinating to me how so many people can be listening to one voice, and that that one voice has a team of people behind it. It did not take long for me to figure out that I needed to be part of that team. With new technology the industry has just gotten more interesting, expanding to include Podcasts, and even "Video Blogs" on websites such as Youtube. It is an industry that requires forward thinking, teamwork, and the willingness to continue learning throughout your entire career. In short, it sounds like an engaging, interesting, dream environment for this essay writer.

This essay is being written with one goal in mind, to help me, Kelly Stinton, gain admittance to the Radio and Television program of Ryerson University, my dream school. From my first encounter with the courses offered at the Ontario University fair in 2009 I knew that this had to be where I attended for my post secondary education. With further research in to the school it became apparent to me that it would be more than a stepping stone on the path to the rest of my life, but would be a rest stop where I could gain experience, knowledge, and a well rounded view on the world around me. It was easy to dream that after the four years spent growing in the environment supplied by this establishment, the fith year would contain finding work with a major Canadian broadcasting company, preferably the CBC, because of the strong childhood memories it holds for me. Five years after that I see myself climbing the ranks in the company, ideally starting my very own show, with a youth oriented subject matter, offering entertainment and guidance to the audience.

Ryerson is my top choice of school for many reasons, but the largest reason is the courses offered. In no other program does the curriculum fit me so perfectly. The chance to sample every type of broadcasting had me practically jumping for joy when I first read through the semester outlines, as my mother can attest. I am certain the professor I spoke to at the OUF was slightly alarmed by my barely contained excited giggles as she further explained the program. I am not certain what type of media I am interested in, though radio has always held strong tenure with me, or what role I would like to play in the team, but I know that I need to be apart of the it.

Teamwork is undoubtedly one of the most important things in the career path my future holds, a concept I welcome with open arms. The education system and work world have prepared me well for the benefits and challenges that accompany a team of people on the same project. I am often put in to the role of leader in teamwork situations, because I am often certain of what needs to be done, and how to do it. I am also not afraid to ask how to do something if I am not certain, a quality I have always believed a leader should have. Listening to your team is also an extremely important skill that I think has been overlooked in recent years. I have this skill, and have been told by peers that they appreciated this quality.

Above I mentioned Youtube and Video Blogs. It is a video blog that made be truly certain that I wanted to be in the radio and television industry, which I can see is rapidly growing to include the internet. The "vlog" in question was called "Brotherhood 2.0", found on their Youtube channel. The concept was simple; two brothers who lived on opposite coasts would each post a video on their Youtube channel on alternating weekdays, except holidays, for a year. This would be their only form of communication other than phone calls, as they would not be able to communicate via textual means for the duration of the year. Through this effort the two brothers, John and Hank Green, have amassed a huge following on the internet, of which I am apart. The nerdfighters, as we call ourselves because we fight for nerds (as opposed to against them) are a friendly and welcoming society that often feels like an extended family. It is a community which is so supportive of those who created it we even got John Green, and amazing writer in his own rite, on the New York Times best seller list not once, but twice! I came upon them during a time where I was often un-happy, and things were not going terribly right in life. The community really helped me, offering support and comradery. Through them I met eight special people from across the globe. Rachael and Brittney from Ontario, Rick and Naomi from New York, Chase and Rion from Australia, Martha (or Marz as she prefers to be called) from Kentucky, and Audrey from Ireland. Together we formed a Youtube channel similar to that of the vlogbrothers which we called sevenawsomenerds (yes, the "e" in awesome is supposed to be missing, because we were so awesome the word imploded) , and though we showed slightly less discipline than the men that inspired the project, we grew to know each other with our endeavor, creating friendships that have outlasted the expiration date of the channel. This was an experience that will stay with me until the day I die. Through my years with this group I gained certainty in what I want to do with my life, and I want to be there when another young person is looking for something their life is not offering. I believe the path that would be offered to me by Ryerson University would be the best place to gain the education I need to become a person who can do this.

The semester outline for the radio and television program is a truly exciting document to look at. Not only does it offer education in all off the broadcasting arts, but the supplementary classes look at once educational and extremely interesting. As I have said I am not certain in what area of the field I am most interested in, but it is clear the program would help me choose. As it stands I am most excited to attend BDC 111, the audio and digital media class. This was the first course to jump off the page at me, but as I have said, the selection is large, and my brain is tingling with the information I could gain from any one of them. As for the supplementary courses, I would absolutely love to take "Espionage: A Twentieth Century History". I am an avid reader and there is more than one title on my bookshelf about the art of espionage, and more than one book signed out of the library in my name on the subject. Another very interesting looking course is the "Economics of Human Behavior" found on Table A (ECN 340). Human behavior is a fascinating subject, the "why" of the world.

I feel that I am an ideal candidate for this university, and that Ryerson is in turn the ideal place for me to attend. I love to experience and learn new things, building my knowledge base on all sides. The world is a puzzle that I want to solve, and I feel as if the radio and television program found at your school would be a perfectly shaped piece of the puzzle. It is hard, as a teenager, to see in to the forest that is the rest of my life, but I am certain that I can see the blue and gold that are Ryersons school colours, like the comforting light of a Tim Hortons sign on a long road trip. On the subject of the school colours I was highly amused when I discovered what they were. In grade nine, during the very first period of my very first day of high school, my English teacher Ms. Prospero, who is one of the best and most memorable teachers I have had in the twelve years I have been in the Ontario School system, assigned a colour test. It was nothing major, no skill required, just a simple personality quiz. I answered the questions, calculated my points, and looked at my results; I was one of the few in my class who fell between two colours. I do not remember what they meant, or what it meant to me at the time, but I have carried the colours with me through the years. The colours were blue and gold.

1500 word count is what was in the instructions, I'm coming in at 1510.

Any advice would be hugely appreciated and payed with virtual brownies!

Thanks!

Kelly Stinton