Emily Mackey: Taking that leap of faith

By Iyanuoluwa Soyinka

Emily's hometown: Sarnia, Ontario

Emily Mackey, hopeless romantic, MMJC alumni, social media specialist and instructor at Fanshawe College.

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Despite growing up in a family of health care providers, Emily Mackey’s life-long dream has been to become a storyteller. By the time she was 13 years old, her love for reading had convinced her that majoring in English at university was the right path for her. Once she finished high school she enrolled at Toronto Metropolitan University, formerly Ryerson University, graduating in 2021 with an undergraduate degree in English and a minor in Politics.

Her introduction to the world of professional communications came through an acquaintance while she was attending university. “I heard there was an opening for a Communications and Public Affairs student at the local hospital,” she said. Emily applied to the position, and after a month in the role realized that she’d discovered a passion. “I really enjoyed sharing the stories of the patients and families at the hospital.”

This role started a fire for communications in her heart. As she headed into her third year of university, she began researching master’s programs that might help her take the next steps towards a career in the field.

Emily had her eyes on one program—the Master of Media in Journalism and Communication (MMJC) program. She was drawn to the program for two reasons. Firstly, the MMJC program emphasized the importance of storytelling skills applied to both communications and journalism. Secondly, the curriculum offered hands-on skills as well as theoretical work.

Fun Fact

Emily is an aspiring author and hopes to release a romance novel in the future.

Since graduating from MMJC in 2022, Emily talks with excitement when she describes her experience in the program. “My favourite memories are the experiences I had with my classmates; we were a very close cohort,” she said. She also remembers specific assignments that made an impression on her, like when she interviewed five couples and created a website filled with their love stories.

MMJC equipped her with the ability to strategize and tell stories, which are important aspects of her two current professional roles. Emily now works as a Social Media Specialist at St. Joseph’s Health Care London (St. Joseph’s) and as an instructor at Fanshawe College. Both jobs are rewarding for different reasons. At St. Joseph’s she gets to return to telling the stories of the people making a difference in health care, and at Fanshawe College she gets to share her knowledge and passion for writing with her students and watch them become more confident in their own skills.

“Try not to let imposter syndrome hold you back from saying yes to opportunities and doing your best.“ - Emily Mackey

Her advice to current MMJC students would be to “soak it all in”. “You’re surrounded by people who want to see you succeed and whose whole job is to help you succeed, that for me is so special—to be surrounded by that much support,” said Emily. She hopes students currently in the program will take advantage of the resources and learning opportunities that are available to them.

For people considering applying to the program, Emily recommends taking that leap of faith: “Go for it. I can’t say enough incredible things about MMJC, it has such a deep place in my heart.” For Emily, the experience gained, and the memories made during the MMJC program are priceless and irreplaceable.

The MMJC program has allowed many students to launch successful careers in journalism, communications, marketing and other media-focused industries. If you’re interested in starting your media career, apply to Western’s MMJC program to Start Your Story!

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Profiles in the Start Your Story blog are written by students in the Master of Media in Journalism & Communication program, who are enrolled in MMJC 9604 - Professional Writing.