Past and present j-school students join storied, one-year internship program

A current student and alumna of the School of Journalism have accepted spots into the highly competitive Toronto Star internship program.

Maria Iqbal, a 2018 grad, and Demar Grant, a fourth-year student, joined five other budding journalists for this one-year program.

The program began in January and offers full-time and hands-on experience to journalists starting their professional careers.

Before joining the Star, Grant spent most of his j-school journey renovating the CJRU's website, including taking on the editor-in-chief role.

"I feel like CJRU was this unsung— almost like a sleeping giant," Grant says. "I know that people want to write about music. I know that people want to write about film, and this is the place [to do so]."

For Iqbal, newspapers are no new thing.

"I was a summer reporter at The Globe and Mail's national desk before becoming The Hamilton Spectator's aging issues reporter," she says. Iqbal won a 2021 Ontario Newspaper Award for her work on the beat. "I'm currently also contributing to a global online news outlet called The Analyst. Before j-school, I ran my undergrad student newspaper ,The Medium."

According to The Hamilton Spectator (external link) , the seven successful reporters were selected from hundreds of applicants.

Grant used a point system analogy to describe why internships are essential for up-and-coming journalists.

"Internships are really important because it's like you're going to go from, zero,. And then point five would be like at the [j-]school, gaining the skills. [With the internship] you're at point nine, where you're almost fully realized in everything that you do. And this [internship] is understanding, okay, that's how the newsroom really works in this place."

Iqbal says she's excited about expanding her newsroom knowledge.

"I'm excited to work on stories I've never done before, and learn how this newsroom works differently from other outlets. I'm also looking forward to learning from reporters whose stories I've been reading for years," she says. "Finally, I look forward to polishing the way I think about stories to appeal to a wider audience."