Julie McCann's Camayak portfolio

Winter 101: Surviving Ottawa’s cold with hot tips

The National Capital Commission's Rachel Pocket, right, and Chanelle Lemieux, had helpful information about Gatineau Park's winter trails. "You don’t need to be an elite athlete," said Pocket. — Photo credit: Caroline Kirkey

Last winter, Amanda Logan, events programmer for the Students' Association, had a discussion with a colleague from Colombia about Ottawa’s harsh winters. '”No amount of Googling would help her understand just how cold it actually gets here in Ottawa,” Logan said with a chuckle. The chat they had highlights the need for events like Winter 101 to help international students...

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First Person: Talk therapy is important and should be available to everyone

Going to therapy changed my life and luckily, there are affordable options for everyone. — Photo credit: Kate Playfair

After suddenly losing my father, Scott, when I was 18 years old, it was a daily struggle to get up every day and go out without having an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. I was grieving, but it had also grown into anxiety. Finally, after two years, I decided it was time to tell my mom about...

First Person: Feeling overwhelmed as an international student is common

Zhiqi Zhou, who is in her seventh year of studying in Canada, says she has come a long way. "Every time I think of this experience, I always marvel at my own experience and growth," she writes.

After a 30-hour flight from Beijing to Winnipeg, I arrived at my new study place, a high school beside the Red River. After my parents and auntie talked it over, although I was just15 years old, I would spend time with my cousin studying abroad in Canada. I was looking forward to meeting my new classmates and began to envision...

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First Person: Lost in Tijuana

Street art found along the Playas de Tijuana Boardwalk in Tijuana, Mexico. “We sometimes encounter people, even perfect strangers, who begin to interest us at first sight, somehow suddenly, all at once, before a word has been spoken.” - Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Crime and Punishment.

This story doesn’t start the night she spent hours with an incorrectly spelled name trying to find me on social media. It doesn’t start the next morning when I followed her back on Instagram. And it doesn’t start hours later when I sat in the airport making her a playlist on Spotify. This story begins a week earlier, in the...

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By Ben Seabrook (Julie as adviser) + 2 others for Algonquin Journalism - 3 min read

Board of Directors releases priorities for the 2024-25 academic period

The SA Board of Directors from left to right: Francois Belanger, Marilena Postolache, Josh Ansaldo, Maria Silveira, Emily MacDonald, Kaitlynd Richard, Yannis Affoum — Photo credit: Ben Seabrook

Over the summer, the Algonquin College Students’ Association Board of Directors spent over 150 hours collecting feedback from students to see what issues they care about most. They then discussed the results and decided on three priorities for the 2024-25 academic year: academics, transportation and mental health. Here’s what you need to know: Academic Quality The BOD will work closely...

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First Person: Adventuring solo doesn't need to be lonely

"Without these experiences," writes the author, "I'd have never challenged myself as much as I did to moving out of my comfort zone."

I was a shy 15 year old standing on a stage in front of 200 people on a ship called the Ocean Endeavour en route to the article circle. I was as far out of my comfort zone as I was away from home in Mistissini, Que. My roommate and new friend on the boat, Gaba Malik Lynge, were doing...

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First Person: Why I’m proud to be a boxer

The author flexes for the camera. Don't let her sleeper build fool you - she can do one whole pull-up. — Photo credit: Zhiqi Zhou

A bead of sweat trickles down my neck. My bangs, once braided and neat, now stick to my forehead and hang in my eyes. My knees are bent and sturdy, and my arms scream with effort. My hands, wrapped and gloved, are balled into fists in front of my face. Today’s opponent is the same as always: Cloth, wrapped in...

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What does it take to be scary? Professional scare actors know the secrets

Quinn O'Malley as his Frightfest character, The Elevator Operator — Photo credit: Siobhan Rollo

It's a dark October night. You find yourself being ushered into a small illuminated elevator, unfamiliar but deceivingly cozy. A haggard elevator operator taps his cane firmly against the floor as he slowly introduces himself: "My name is Henry," he says, shrinking into himself. "I'm excited to introduce you to the family."As the elevator operator clicks a button and the...

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5 ways the college is helping students on World Mental Health Day

Mackenzie Visneskie, worker at Wellness Fair, standing at the reception desk to bring students into the event — Photo credit: Sophie Daly

As the world recognizes World Mental Health Day, Algonquin College is playing its part in offering resources to help students. “There is a lot going on and it's different with everyone’s coping system," said Heri Wimana, a first-year tourism travel service student about mental health. “So having events like these may pull people together, maybe someone can find some comfort...

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First Person: Living alone has shown me silence has its own rhythm

"Settling into the quiet rhythm of my studio, I realized that this little space held a new kind of freedom," writes the author. "Alone, I could shape my life in ways I'd never imagined—learning, adjusting, and finding comfort in the solitude." — Photo credit: Steven Dalloo

The first time I closed the door to my new place on Sept. 3, the silence felt heavier than I expected. No sounds of family in the background, no roommates rustling about. Just me. Standing in the middle of my small living room in a studio apartment in Ottawa west, I looked around at the space and realized that everything...

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