I had just flown in from Houston and was spending the evening with my parents.
We were sitting next to the fire listening to music and the song “Small Town Saturday Night,” by Hal Ketchum came on. We hear the line, “Cause when people leave town, they never come back.” We all laughed because I was going back to Lac La Biche, a town I left 15 years ago.
I have recently come back to Lac La Biche, and am the new sports reporter/ digital sales guru here at the Post. It is an amalgamation of everything I went to grad school for.
One of the things you should know about me is that I am a HUGE sports fan. To say I am a sports fanatic is an understatement. I have over 20 different teams in my closet, worn a World Series Ring, worked out with the Washington Capitals, had Joe Biagini blow me a kiss, and camped at the NASCAR track for a weekend.
While I love sports and can talk about it for hours, I had never seen it as a viable career option. I viewed it as something that everyone watched and bonded over. Upon graduating from Chestermere High School in 2007, I pursued my Bachelor of Science in both geophysics and geology at the University of Calgary. I worked as a junior seismic processor for a geophysical service company for 3.5 years after graduation, but was let go in early 2016 due to the economic downturn.
Towards the end of my stint as a geophysicist, I was starting to do marketing for the company and engaging
in the business development side of things. To be honest, I enjoyed it more. I have always been good at talking with people, so a graduate degree in communications made the most sense. I still did not think view sports writing as a career option. With the job market bleak, I decided to embark on a career change and pursue my Masters Degree in Communications.
After much research on various schools and their communication graduate programs, I ultimately decided to attend the University of Houston. The two biggest selling features for me were: 1. Not having a winter, and 2. Being in the land of football.
In my first graduate class that semester, my professor asked us, “What are you passionate about?” Everyone went around the room and said something along the lines of, “fake news,” “politics,” “black lives matter,” “feminism,” “LGBTQ issues,” and I simply say, “football.” I felt silly, but I wasn’t lying. My first research paper that year was on fantasy football. My primary research focus going forward was sports communication. I was now beginning to view sports writing as a viable career option.
So here I am, back in a town that I had moved away from 15 years ago. I am excited to be back, but even more excited to be able to write about all thevsports and sporting events coming to town. While I may at times miss the Texas heat and tailgates, and cheering for the Cougars (WHOSE HOUSE?! COOGS HOUSE!!), I am excited to cheer for the local teams from the diamonds to the arenas and from the youngest athletes to the oldest.
