J-school students who won RTDNF scholarships from left to right: Brittany Weaver, Farkhounda Azizullah and Macenzie Rebelo.
MJ Macenzie Rebelo’s passion for intricate and layered storytelling was what drove her to create a documentary that just received a national honour: the CBC Barbara Frum Scholarship, a scholarship awarding students who complete a radio, podcast or TV interview, at the Radio Television Digital News Foundation of Canada (RTDNF) (external link) .
”My documentary was about a Brampton resident who was a victim of police brutality a couple of years ago because he was having a mental health crisis in a parking lot. So, I follow his experience and the lack of consequences after the incident happened and how he’s been grappling with that,” said Rebelo.
Rebelo and two other J-School students won scholarships from the RTDNF this year.
Farkhounda Azizullah received the Global News Diversity Scholarship to uplift journalism or communication students from racialized communities. She produced a powerful documentary contrasting the Afghani women who are university students in Canada compared to the women in Afghanistan who are prohibited from receiving an education.
As an Afghan student, Azizullah says being able to write stories about her community is a priority. “It is a great feeling to be able to tell the stories of my people.”
The JJ Richards Scholarship is awarded to students with a passion for podcasts and radio storytelling. Brittany Weaver, MJ ‘23, was honored for the podcast she produced for her masters research project. Centred on her grandfather, who immigrated to Canada six months before the Chinese Exclusionary Act went into effect in the country, Weaver had a strong personal connection to his immigration story.
“I explored the impact that had on my family and what it meant to grow up essentially without my grandfather because he was so much older when he was able to start his family, and how to grapple with a family history that you’re just trying to discover,” said Weaver.
The recipients were all awarded the RTDNF Canada Scholarships on Oct. 20 at the RTDNA (external link) annual conference in Toronto. Rebelo says receiving recognition from her peers and the RTDNF is a huge honour.
“I’m really proud of myself for getting here. It was a lot of hard work, but I’m happy to be here with my classmates as well from TMU.”
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