News Article

It’s never been about recognition for Ryan Crocker – it’s all about the journey. This dedication to storytelling has garnered him 10 awards during his career for writing, photography, and layout and design from the Better Newspapers Competition, but even today he credits his instructors and his education at CNA for laying the foundation for his success.

“I blush even talking about it (the awards), but it felt great. It was wonderful to know I really did know what I was doing - and that's, in part, a credit to CNA.”

As far back as he can remember Ryan has always had a love affair with the written word.

After graduating high school, the Creston South native on the Burin Peninsula was a bartender and sales associate at a retail outlet. Ryan changed his career primarily for financial reasons but chose journalism because of his love of writing.

“My best grades in school were always in courses that required a lot of research and writing, such as English and Biology, and poorest in subjects like Math, Chemistry and Physics. I knew I wanted a career that would allow me, primarily, to write for a living but also offered opportunities for travel, rich experiences, and so on,” he recalls.


“I remember once, in high school, an English teacher returned a test I'd forgotten to sign with a PostIt note that said, ‘Must be yours. Too good to be anyone else's.’ Writing is what I want to do.”

He enrolled in university but quickly realized it wasn’t the right path to achieving his goals.

“I tried another school first - a university. I didn't like the idea of wasting two additional years of my life to turn a diploma into a degree. In most fields, a diploma is enough to get your foot in the door and that's all I really wanted a degree for anyway. I had friends at CNA who raved about their programs so I thought I'd give it a try.”

Ryan graduated from Journalism in 2005. He feels the program was just what he needed and covered just enough material “at outstanding quality.”

He describes the instructors as brilliant and says their words of advice have stayed with him to help guide his career over the years. He adds that the program used the latest in technology and equipment.

“I graduated in 2005 and the last newspaper I worked at in 2010 was using equipment older than what CNA had then.”

He found employment almost immediately after graduating and left Newfoundland and Labrador behind for his career. He’s since held numerous positions in his chosen field.

“Journalism is one of those fields that is completely different wherever you end up. I've worked at weeklies and dailies in towns and cities but, I'd have to say, my favourite was working at a small weekly newspaper in the town of Beausejour, Manitoba. I poured my heart and soul into it because the community truly appreciated it,” he continues.

“The worst job I had was working at a weekly attached to a major daily. It felt as though nothing we did mattered because the daily could always cover events faster than we could. So we were left doing the least important news and human interest stories.”
 
His favourite part of his job is writing about people who are passionate about what they do.

“My favourite part was interviewing people who truly cared about the subject at hand. Whether it was a scientist passionate about water quality or a young engaged couple who biked across the country, if the subjects of the story were emotional, it was incredibly rewarding.”


In 2010, Ryan moved into the public relations field. He has been employed at Ceridian Canada Ltd since November 2010, first as the web communications specialist, then as the communications specialist and now as the product marketing coordinator. He feels CNA’s Journalism program prepared him exceptionally well for work in public relations.
 
“They shouldn't even let people do public relations unless they have a background in journalism. A background in journalism not only enables you to be far more helpful to the media, more importantly it ensures you're less annoying to them. As former journalists, we know the National Post couldn't care less about our company's new parking garage or whatever else, but other public relations professionals don't.”

He says the skills required to excel in both journalism and public relations are identical and feels CNA “really focusses on the ones that most need to be developed.” Ryan can’t say enough good things about his CNA experience and recommends an education from the institution.
 
“Not just the journalism program, but any program at CNA. It is an exceptional college. If you want the skills and knowledge you need to start building a career, and the diploma to prove it, choose CNA.”
 
Ryan returned to Newfoundland this summer and currently resides in Mount Pearl.
 
“I returned to Newfoundland after asking my current employer, Ceridian Canada Ltd., for permission to work virtually from home. They said yes and I finally got to return to Newfoundland, which is something I've always wanted.”
 
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Media Contact:
 
Glenda McCarthy
Public Relations Assistant
College of the North Atlantic
709.643.6408
glenda.mccarthy@cna.nl.ca