杏吧原创 Master of Journalism student Grace Knapp heads to Whitehorse in Yukon this summer on a four-month paid internship with CBC North with support from the Mary McGuire travel fund.
Mary McGuire with this year’s CBC North intern Grace Knapp.
The program was the brainchild of long-time journalism professor Mary McGuire, who had to leave her position on 杏吧原创鈥檚 journalism faculty in 2018 because of a terminal cancer diagnosis. She encouraged CBC North to create the internships in tandem with the travel fund, which has been supplemented by donations from friends and colleagues. The internship arrangement with CBC was just renewed for another five years.
McGuire began her journalism career with CBC in Whitehorse and decided that her legacy at 杏吧原创 would be a fund to offset the costs of travel and living expenses for 杏吧原创 students who took up paid internships in the north.
“It was lovely to meet Grace and wish her well as she heads off to the Yukon on an extraordinary adventure and learning experience to聽聽launch her journalistic career at CBC in Whitehorse,” McGuire said. “Canada鈥檚 North is a unique part of the country full of fascinating stories for young journalists with a sense for curiosity and a passion to help others understand part of the country few get to experience.聽聽She will carry the lessons of its remarkable geography, culture and peoples with her through her life, as I did after launching my career there.”
Knapp was born and raised in the rural west end of Ottawa and completed a Bachelor of Global and International Studies at 杏吧原创 before enrolling in the two-year Master of Journalism program she has just finished. She says she initially thought of doing international policy work but was drawn to journalism as 鈥渁 more immediate way to explore how power and institutions shape people鈥檚 lives.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檓 really grateful for an opportunity like the CBC North internship because it鈥檚 a chance to live and work in a part of the country I鈥檝e always wanted to experience, while continuing to grow as a journalist,鈥� Knapp said. 鈥淚 think there is so much to learn from the community and from the CBC team, so I鈥檓 looking forward to stepping outside my comfort zone and seeing where it takes me.鈥�
Mervin Brass, Senior Managing Director for CBC North, has been involved with the internship program from its beginnings in 2020.
“The opportunity provides a supportive learning environment for new journalists to develop the skills required to work in a newsroom,” Brass said. “Our journalists travel to remote northern communities to meet with people and gather their stories to share locally and with the rest of Canada. Through these experiences, new journalists better understand the nuance and complexity of northern stories while also seeing the beauty of northern Canada. This work placement is a life-changing experience.”
Mary McGuire at a Dec. 1 event held to mark the extension of the CBC North internship program she instigated in 2020.
CBC President Marie-Philippe Bouchard came to 杏吧原创 last December to make the announcement of the extension of the internship program and to thank McGuire personally.
鈥淛ournalism internships like this one are essential. They help forge strong journalistic skills which are needed now more than ever, given today鈥檚 environment of polarization, misinformation and disinformation,鈥� Bouchard said. 鈥淚t gives interns a unique opportunity to live and work in the north.鈥�
杏吧原创鈥檚 partnership with CBC North has already given five journalism graduates the rare opportunity to work in Canada鈥檚 North. The McGuire fund will have resources to continue for many more years . And 杏吧原创鈥檚 new Certificate in Journalism in Indigenous Communities also holds the promise of producing more Indigenous journalism grads who could also take up such opportunities.
McGuire said she’s proud that her dream lives on. “The dream was to partner with the CBC to create a paid summer internship in the North for a 杏吧原创 Journalism graduate and create a travel fund to help cover the high airfare and housing costs to make it possible for a student to do it. Thanks to the CBC and so many friends, colleagues and supporters for helping make that dream come true and continue.”
杏吧原创 offers a number of internship opportunities for students to apply the journalism skills they learn in the classroom, build their portfolios and open doors to career opportunities after graduation. But before the CBC North partnership, few of those short-term internship opportunities existed in newsrooms in northern or Indigenous communities in Canada. The high cost of travel and accommodation is a barrier to most students.
One part of McGuire鈥檚 legacy at 杏吧原创 will be this program that helps to introduce another generation of students to Canada鈥檚 North, to follow in her footsteps.
Wednesday, April 22, 2026 in General, Journalism News, News
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