The third Loyalist College Convocation ceremony for 2010 was held on Friday, June 11 for 1,089 graduating students in the Schools of Media Studies, Architecture and Building Sciences, and Skills Training and Continuing Education. The ceremony’s guest speaker was Martina Fitzgerald, National Radio News Host and Editor for CBC Radio, and a 1984 graduate of the Loyalist Radio Broadcasting program.
Martina Fitzgerald has worked at radio stations in Belleville, Kingston and Toronto. In 2002, she joined CBC Radio in Toronto, starting with National Radio Sports, and then moving to Regional and National News. She has hosted “Ontario Morning” and “Here and Now”, the Toronto afternoon show. Today, she is a National Radio News Host/Editor and hosts the CBC flagship program, “World Report” on weekends, and other national news shows such as “The World at Six” and “The World This Weekend”, from time to time. In 2001/02, Martina co-hosted the Easter Seal Telethon for CBC Television in Toronto. Previously she was a Telethon host for CKWS Television in Kingston. Her community involvement includes support for the Limestone Learning Foundation and the Toronto Children’s Breakfast Club. A strong believer in mentoring, she has taught broadcast journalism and radio broadcasting at both Loyalist and Seneca Colleges. She is a former chair and current member of the Loyalist College Radio Broadcasting Advisory Committee.
“Every successful person I know weathers victories and failures — because they’re taking risks and finding new ways to challenge themselves,” Martina Fitzgerald said to the graduates. “As tough as it can be at times, I know for me, some of the most transformative times have come about when something happens that really forces me to ask myself what I really want and what I have to do to get there.”
Ms. Fitzgerald was presented with the Hugh P. O’Neil Outstanding Alumni Award by President Maureen Piercy and Mr. O’Neil. This annual award is presented to a Loyalist graduate who has made an exceptional contribution to his or her community through professional or community leadership, or volunteer service. The award was established by the College Board of Governors in 1998, in recognition of Mr. O’Neil’s leadership as Chair of the College’s Foundations for the New Millennium Campaign.
Media Contact: Marilyn Warren, Communications, Loyalist College, (613) 969-1913, ext. 2332; e-mail: mwarren@loyalistc.on.ca