Akiva Levitas 2011 Communications: Art, Media & Theatre graduate

What better birthday present for a budding journalist than to win a journalism prize. It was on his birthday that Vanier graduate Akiva Levitas received a cheque for winning the 2011-2012 Don McGillivray Memorial Prize in Explanatory Journalism from Concordia University where he is currently studying.

His winning article "Everything's changing," published in the Cree magazine "The Nation" reported on a project that studied how climate change in the James Bay area is transforming the environment and how hunters, trappers and communities must adapt.

An internship with a magazine

Akiva, who graduated in June 2011 from the Vanier Communications: Arts, Media and Theatre Program, didn't hesitate when Martin Siberok, the Coordinator of the Communications program at Vanier and the Copy Editor of "The Nation", suggested he apply for a three-week summer internship on the publication. "I got accepted and started writing for the magazine immediately," Akiva says. "I've continued writing for them and in all I've written twenty to thirty articles for them."

Travelling and interviewing all kinds of people

The internship was a remarkable opportunity for Akiva. Not only did he travel to Quebec's northern Cree territories, but he also met interesting people.

"I've interviewed former Prime Minister Paul Martin and Quebec Premier Jean Charest," he confides. Akiva is also lucky to be writing about a subject that interests him. "I've always been interested in nature programs and the Discovery Channel. I'm interested in how nature relates to communities, especially those in the North; so it's great to be writing about these topics."

The Don McGillivray Prize in Explanatory Journalism

The Don McGillivray Prize in Explanatory Journalism aims to encourage journalistic writing that explains a complicated story in easy-to-understand terms. Don McGillivray was a national reporter, editor and columnist for over forty years, and a professor of journalism at Concordia and Carleton universities. He covered public affairs, politics and economics in Ottawa and aimed to make sure his readers understood the business and economics of government.

Choosing a program

Like many students, Akiva's road to success and to journalism took a few twists and turns. "I was always told I was a good writer but my parents wanted me to go into engineering so when I first came to Vanier I spent one semester in Pure and Applied Science then switched to the Communications program."

What was coming to Vanier like for Akiva?

"It was a shock!" he says. "I came from a small Jewish religious school. There were five students in my class – all boys - and only thirty students in the entire high school! And all my teachers were male. So Vanier was different! It took me a while to get used to. First, I had to get used to the presence of girls, then the diversity – there is every culture possible here at Vanier, and finally the mix of teachers."

Vanier taught me to work hard

"Vanier taught me to work hard and get things done on time and SHOW up. So many students skip classes. You have to understand what it takes to pass – you won't do that if you're not attending class. What I learned at Vanier I applied in my work at "The Nation" and at university. You can't skip classes at university."

What was the best part of Vanier?

"The diversity! I got to make friends I would never have met. I was in a Moroccan Jewish high school and when I came to Vanier I was with Italians and Algerians and all kinds of other people."

What's in the future for Akiva?

"Right now it looks like it's journalism." As the winner of the Don McGillivray Prize in Explanatory Journalism, it certainly would appear that Akiva has what it takes to be a good reporter.