BJ308 - About Us

Christina Butterfield is a freelance writer and editor, currently assisting with the production of in-arena publications for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors and Toronto Blue Jays through executive editor John Iaboni and publisher CORE Media. In addition, Christina teaches New Media Journalism and Desktop Publishing for Mohawk College's Media Studies department in Hamilton, Ont., and works as Weekend Editor for canada.com's Toronto office.

I am Ryan Abram...It kinda looks like I am talking cuz this pic is a profile...when life gives you lemons....throw them at carnies...wow brad wrote a lot. Oh yeah I have to write a bio. I live on a farm with a family of five. I love music more than anything else. I attend Mohawk College and am in my third year of journalism. I am in a band called Paris in Flames and am currently recording with them in Toronto. I have a cat and dog and my roomate just recently bought two kittens named Milo and Meemee.I like long walks on the beach and being caught in the rain. If you like what you see and hear call me at 905 - 574 - 6217. A word of advice, Eagles may soar high but weasles don't get sucked into jet engines.

As I head down the final stretch of my college drive, my goals have differed from when I began, but the same final destination still lies. Sounds of the West Coast and surfing the ocean in La, La, Land appeal to me, with perhaps unrealistic thoughts of calling Clipper games; that would be the ultimate. As for now, well, I’ve never been the ideal student, I hacked through three years of University, rarely attending a class while flirting with a varsity soccer career. This time around at Mohawk College I vowed things would change; they haven’t much. After one year of playing for the Mountaineers I decided to hang up my boots and become more dedicated. I did become more determined, I just happened to pick up three jobs along the way and now that takes up much of my time; too much perhaps. I have managed to semi-tap into the industry however, as I find myself spending many a night working out of the Spec building for CanWest. The opportunity has fulfilled all my needs as I bring in some much needed cash for school, I gain some skills in the industry as well as valuable computer experience, and, possibly most importantly, I can use my work hours towards this programs required internship. I’ve also learned about different avenues I may be willing to pursue such as a career in advertising or working in a companies marketing department. Who knows where I’ll end up, I’m not picky, I’ll settle for San Diego! -

Geoff Bent is a student in the Journalism and Communications Media Program at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario. During his time at Mohawk College, Geoff has participated in a newsroom environment. This included helping produce a daily news magazine, as well as being on the production team for a Mohawk Television News. During this time Geoff has appeared on air in on both television and radio. Geoff is hoping to pursue a career in the public relations field upon graduating in 2005. Currently, Geoff works as a waiter at Tony Roma’s restaurant in Hamilton, Ontario. During his spare time Geoff enjoys spending time with his girlfriend, watching sports, and traveling to amusement parks around North America. In the past Geoff has spent time in a retail environment which included working at Sobeys as a Meat Clerk for three years and at A&P as a Produce Clerk for two years.

Alana Boyko is currently in her third and final year of Broadcast Journalism at Mohawk College. Upon graduation, Alana’s dream is to eventually be an Entertainment Reporter for a large television network such as Global, CTV, or even better, she would love to be on Entertainment Tonight! In addition, Alana has had several part time jobs to keep her busy over the years, including working in clothing stores, waitressing and has been a lifeguard for four years. Alana has accomplished a lot for being only nineteen years old that many people may not know about. She is a certified scuba diver, loves skydiving, and has done numerous modeling jobs. Alana has her gold artistic in figure skating, she has been a cheerleading for The Hamilton Bulldogs Ice Girls for 3 years, and just recently competed for Miss Universe Canada. In her spare time, Alana loves dancing, hanging out with friends and playing with her 2 adorable cats, Winston and Patches. Alana's biggest dream is to have complete happiness in life.

Hey it’s Dawn from the Rock Patrol live on location at Mohawk College for my third and final year of Journalism and Communications Media. I’ve been doing my rock and roll duty with CJXY since March. It’s been an awesome experience at the station doing cut-ins, commercials, hosting, organizing events and gaining invaluable radio experience along the way. I’ve had the opportunity to meet bands, travel all over Ontario, play in the great outdoors, and get paid for it. I learned that I love radio, and if that’s where I happen to end up…I’d be perfectly content with that. So basically to quote Amy Lee of Evanescence at the 2004 MMVA…”It don’t suck.” I’m Dawn in the Y108 community cruiser brought to you by Subway and Mohawk College, on location with the station that rocks Hamilton and Burlington Y108.

Anita Calabrese is a third year Journalism student at Hamilton’s very own Mohawk College. Over the last 3 years Anita has learned several educational skills which she will be attempting to use to further her in the Journalism/Public Relations industry. Her skills include; Avid training, Vegas video editing, on camera practice, and familiarity in both field production and documentary making. Anita has no desire to be a hard nosed journalist and realistically is incapable of it, due to the fact that her heart is the size of a watermelon which has been infested with yucky pesticides therefore implying that it’s quite oversized. This doesn’t mean that her stay at Mohawk has been a complete waste of time; it just means that she’s more then willing to use her attributes which have been developed over the years, towards a goal which is thus far to be determined. After graduating from Mohawk College Anita hopes to travel the world. Her love for both snowboarding and surfing cause her to often be somewhat of a scatterbrain at school and makes for paying attention a difficult task. Her other interests include being obsessed with music and wanting to be a rock star eventually. When talking to Anita it’s not out of the norm that she may blurt out “name your top 5 bands” at any given time. She loves photography, art, attending concerts, playing guitar and long boarding. Anita also plans on forever being a kid at heart.

Rosalba is in her third year of the Broadcasting and Communications Media program at Mohawk College. Once finished her schooling, she plans to find a position in the field, such as a reporter and writer for a sports or news television network. In addition to school, Catinella has done some volunteer work as a member of Y 108’s Rock Patrol over the past few months. She has also done volunteered at Mohawk’s campus radio station, C 101.5, writing and reporting hourly news updates. In the future, Rosalba hopes to become a well known and respected part of the broadcasting community in and around the Hamilton/Toronto area.

Melinda Cheevers is a third year broadcast journalism student that freelances in her spare time. Born and raised in St. Catharines, Ontario Melinda got her start in the field doing a co-op at the St. Catharines Standard. Her position as Editorial Assistant had her copy-editing and writing CD reviews. After graduating from high school Melinda headed to Mohawk College in Hamilton where she writes for various online magazines and for the Satellite, the campus newspaper. This year she took on the job of Entertainment Editor at the Satellite. After she finishes college Melinda plans to attend University.

My name is Laura Cook and I am 22 years old. I moved to Ontario in 1995 and have lived in Georgetown ever since. I graduated from Georgetown District High School in 2000 and I currently attend Mohawk College. I am in my 3rd year of the Broadcast Journalism and Communications course and I now write for the campus paper The Satellite as a staff writer and have volunteered at the campus radio station C101.5 and Cable 14 in Milton. This year I hope to continue doing volunteer work for C101.5 along with my new duties as staff writer for the Satellite. In the future I hope to pursue a job in radio or television but I am not limiting myself to those two fields and would also be interested in writing for a newspaper, magazine or doing on line journalism.

Alan Dobbie is a third year student in the Journalism and Communications Media program at Mohawk College. Through the program, Alan has worked in a newsroom environment putting together both radio and television newscasts. In addition to writing, Alan also performs on air tasks such as anchoring Mohawk TV News and hosting the radio news magazine program, the 411, on C101.5 FM on occasion. Alan currently resides in Burlington and works part-time at Sobeys to help finance his college tuition fees. Upon graduation, Alan plans on securing a starting position at a local radio station in attempts to further climb the ladder in the journalism field.

Matt Grigg is an aspiring third year broadcast journalism student at Mohawk College. He has had the experience of working for C101.5 FM radio, covering the Hamilton Red Wings Junior “A” hockey club as well as working in the sports department of “The Satellite” news paper. He has also assisted in the public relations departments of the Red Wings and the Kitchener Rangers. Matt would like explore further endeavors in the sports journalism world. He has set goals of working as a play-by-play or color commentator for hockey broadcast, and working in the day to day operations of a hockey team in the public relations department.

Julia Hayes is in her third year of the Broadcast Journalism Program at Mohawk College. Born and raised in Hamilton, Ontario, Julia began her post-secondary education at York University in Toronto. After a year at York studying English and dealing with the stress of being away from home and life as a starving student, Julia decided to come back to her hometown to start over in a new direction. After discovering Mohawk’s Journalism Program, she began a journey to find her niche, and, low and behold, two years later, finally knows what she wants to do when she grows up. With six months left to go before she graduates, Julia hopes to fine tune the skills she acquired during her time at Mohawk, so she can be well prepared to make her mark in the media industry. With aspirations to someday be behind the news anchor desk, Julia is carving out a path for herself on her continuing journey, and isn’t looking back.

My name is Amanda Hutson and I am a third year broadcast journalism student at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario. Upon entering my third year I decided that my main interest is in public relations or writing. My ideal job would be one in the public relations field and a romance novelist on the side. So far my experience has been limited to writing essays for school or short stories for my own enjoyment. So far my work experience has included working small retail jobs where my personal skills were developed by meeting new people. Over the summer I worked in a factory with my father making springs for cars. This did not encourage my writing skills but helped me develop personal skills like meeting new people. I really enjoy jobs that challenge my skills both with people and with my mind.

Brad James is in his 3rd and final year of Broadcast Journalism at Mohawk College. But it was a chance meeting with Hockey Night in Canada broadcaster (and then fellow Ancaster resident) Ron MacLean at the age of 6 at the corner store that originally sparked Brad's interest in TV. (I still have his autograph on an old circa 1986 Sears envelope.) Upon graduating from high school in 1999 (yikes!) Brad attended Fanshawe College in London and studied Television Broadcasting. While at Funshawe (yes, that says "fun") he decided he wanted to study journalism. After explaining to his parents why he wanted to spend so much time in school and not end up a doctor, he applied to Mohawk. Deciding to come to Mohawk was the best decision Brad ever made. After graduating, Brad would love to get a job as a sportscaster/reporter. His biggest love is sports, and being the Sports Editor of the "Troylicious Satellite", he is able to gain valuable experience covering sporting events and reporting on various sports stories. In his spare time, Brad likes to play golf, hockey and just relax. His new favourite thing is playing "Uncle Brad" to his best friends 5-month old daughter, Eden. No, I don't do diapers.

Tiffany Jennings is a student at Mohawk College finishing her last year in Journalism and Broadcasting. After graduation she hopes to attend the University of Western Sydney in Australia to receive a three year degree in Communications in just one year. Tiffany believes that education is very important and will continue to challenge herself for the rest of her life. Once Tiffany Jennings graduates from the University of Western Sydney she hopes to find work as a correspondent for the National Geographic Magazine. Working for the National Geographic would be ideal because she loves to travel and wants to explore the world and all the different cultures. Eventually Tiffany would love to host her own wildlife television show on the discovery channel and also produce her own sitcom. In addition to her career goals Tiffany has lots of hobbies such as dancing and she loves to sing. Tiffany wants to eventually try some extreme sports like white water rafting, sky diving and surf some big waves. Overall she hopes to be successful in everything that she does and wants to enjoy every minute of life.

Matt John is a third year Broadcast Journalism student at Mohawk College. He is actively engaged in the school events, he is a member of the varsity volleyball team for a third straight year and the brand new host of a hip hop radio show on C101.5 FM. As well as being a full time student/athlete, Matt also works part-time as a culinary engineer, where he works weekends. If this schedule doesn’t sound hectic enough Matt also finds time to record and produce his own music. He has a strong loves and passion for music and would like to be involved in the music industry. Some Of Matt’s future goals include: Graduating from School, creating a successful radio program and to release a solo album of his music. To learn more about Matt’s music please check out: www.soundclick.com/emjayfrompremiumplus

Trista Luxton is a broadcast journalism student at Mohawk College. This is presently her 3rd year in the program. She is originally from Timmins Ontario but she enjoys living in the big cities. Trista aspires to be a reporter or a tv talk show host someday. This is her last year, so now she is contemplating what is in store for her for in the future. Trista has 3 brothers that all start with the letter T, two parents and two dogs. Having such a big family has sparked her to become a social butterfly. Growing up over the years she always used to get into trouble in class, because of her talking. But now she figures what not get paid for what she does best! T-A-L-K!

I have spent 5 years broadcasting hockey on TV. I started in my hometown of Sarnia broadcasting on the radio, where I then got my break on the television. I really found my nitch doing it and realized that that was what I wanted to do. That led me here. I intend to broadcast the Bulldogs this year for Mohawk TV and then I have my co-op with LEAF TV (if there is a season). On the side, I work for a magazine which is moving to Hamilton in the spring. I want to pursue my goal to broadcast in the NHL and hope to be there in 5 years.

Dario Milkovic is a journalist who wants to work in the music industry. He has a profound knowledge of music and wants to do beat reporting specifically on music. Milkovic has been involved in creating music for over 10 years and has been in several bands. He has a vast knowledge of all types of music ranging from rock to classical. He plans on getting a job at Much More Music in the next few years. His main goal is to become a producer on the show and expand the shows horizons. He would try to introduce the audience to music that does not often get played such as classical, funk, blues and jazz.

Melanie Patterson is currently in her third year of the Broadcast Journalism Communications Media Program at Mohawk College on Hamilton Ontario. At the time Melanie is uncertain about her career focus. She enjoys both the reporting and public relations aspects of the program. Melanie is looking forward to finding her niche in the career world once she has graduated from Mohawk. Melanie grew up in Heart Lake Ontario with her parents, Delyse and Fred, brother Dan and dog Bill. Melanie attended Mayfield Secondary, an arts school in Caledon Ontario where she graduated with her OAC’s and a diploma in dramatic arts. Look at those chompers! No seriously.. look at them.

Troy Patterson recently entered his 3rd year of the Journalism and Communications Media Class at Hamiltons’ Mohawk College. Patterson has around three years experience in print journalism and continues to expand his knowledge as the Managing Editor of the Mohawk College Satellite Newspaper. His previous print position was at the Shoreline Beacon newspaper in Port Elgin Ontario, where he received three high school co-op credits and later worked a 13 month contract placement. He also enjoys radio and television broadcasting and newsgathering, as he prepares for his final semester before entering his work term next semester. His hobbies include socializing, swimming, biking, walking, rugby, hockey, video games and live music.

Student, former student. Born December 12th 1979 in the industrial town of Oshawa Ontario Canada. As a young boy, Pollock was a newspaper carrier for the the Oshawa This Week. That job would first ignite his interest in journalism. His destiny would have to be put on hold with a series of detours. First being his part-time job of flipping burgers and taking crap from the customers at the local Mcdonalds. But after the trials and tribulations of his upbringing, Pollock found himself in the aromatic city of Hamilton. Where he studies Media Communications in the Broadcast Journalism program.

Stephanie is a third year Journalism and Communications Media student at Mohawk College. During the summer of her first year, she began interning at Standard Radio Hamilton, 102.9 K-Lite FM, Oldies 1150 and 820 CHAM, doing general reporting. In her second summer, she completed an internship at CHUM FM in Toronto, working again as a reporter. She now works as a weekend news anchor at Standard Radio Hamilton. Upon graduation, she hopes to find a job in radio, as a general reporter, eventually making the jump from radio to television.

Known to most as Sakalaki, Michael Sakalauskas is a 23 year old Broadcast Journalism student from the mean streets of Hagersville. He is a product of the one and only Hagersville Secondary School where he graduated with honours. He doesn’t have a lot of experience in the journalism field, just what he has learned over the years at school. He has enjoyed most of his time at Mohawk but is raring to get out there and challenge the dreaded real world. Mike isn't too sure what he wants to do when his days at Mohawk are numbered but he would love to work as a sports journalist of some kind or would love to spin classic rock music on a big city radio station.

Marilyn St. Hill is a third year Broadcast Journalism student at Mohawk College. She ia a volunteer at both Cable 14 and Rogers Television, where she works in front of and behind the camera. Keep your eye on Marilyn she could be the next Oprah Winfrey!

I got my first job when I was 16 at a little Italian bakery and worked there for 3 years. From there I went to work for a year on contract in the kitchen at Milton District Hospital. When I started school I took a part-time at a local children's consignment store. For my first and second year of college I sailed through with only working one day a week. Then I picked up a job at the J. Scott Early Funeral Home, yes Funeral Home. Ok so your probably wondering what I do at a Funeral Home. I do everything from greeting people for visitations, paper work, cleaning, flower delivery, and helping out the funeral directors any way I can. It's a bit of a stretch but I like to consider this job somewhat public relations. Then about 2 months ago I took a third part-time job at Allendale Seniors Residence.

My name is Dianne Elizabeth Varga and I am currently enrolled in my third year of Broadcast Journalism at Mohawk College. Trying exotic foods and road trips are some of my favourite things to do when I don’t work as a part-time waitress, which tends to feel like it’s TOO often. When I graduate I would love to travel and work at the same time, whether it be doing freelance work or working for a traveling company, that’s where I want to start my career. In a perfect world it would be possible, but in a perfect world there would also be at least five sexy men slaving over me daily. For now that is just my goal I will work up to receiving, and eventually it will become my reality as I will not rest until I am rich and my doctor makes me beautiful.

Jonathan Vize is a 3rd year Broadcast Journalism student at Mohawk College and works part time at National Sports, a sporting goods store in Hamilton Ontario. Jonathan was born in 1983 and has lived in Hamilton ever since. After graduating High school in 2001 at Sir Allan MacNab Secondary School, began college immediately at Mohawk College in the Broadcast Journalism program. Since then, he immediately had an interest in becoming a weatherman and working for the weather net work in the future. After meeting Chris Murphy from the weather network and seeing his talent on-camera, Jonathan has wanted to do the same ever since. Currently, he works as a sports advisor at National Sports for over two years now. His first love is in sports, playing football, hockey and volleyball during high school, as well as coaching his high school badminton team. Jonathan plans to become a personality on the weather network, and eventually move into sports reporting.