With experience working at Trent University’s community radio station and student newspaper, and an impressive academic record, Ayesha Barmania, a graduating student in International Development Studies and Anthropology, will be spending her summer working at CBC’s head office in Toronto as Trent University’s 2015 recipient of the CBC Radio Peter Gzowski Internship.

The sought-after internship, which runs from May through August, is offered to students at four universities across the country, including Trent. Students are selected to complete placements in CBC offices across the country from May to August every year where they will have the opportunity to learn how to create great radio.

During the selection process for the internship, Ms. Barmania stood out from the competition because of her community involvement and leadership at Trent. During her time as a Trent student, she has placed herself at the centre of Trent’s community by volunteering with several groups and organizations involved in communication, culture, and skills development. In addition to volunteering at the Sadleir House library and providing workshops on skills development, Ms. Barmania has also reported on local politics in Peterborough for Trent’s student newspaper,Arthur,and hosts two weekly shows for Trent Radio.  

Reflecting on her experience in radio so far, Ms. Barmania says, “I found doing radio was really good for me in terms of developing social and public speaking skills. It has been a good way of getting myself out there and making a lot of friends, too.”

Speaking of the selection process this year, Barry Townsend, director of Colleges at Trent and head of the selection committee that recommends internship candidates, said “The selection committee was very impressed with the students who expressed interest in the Gzowski Internship this year. The skills, experiences and passion of each of them demonstrates why Trent is truly an amazing place - our students, their enthusiasm for learning, and their creativity are second to none.”

Ms. Barmania’s time at Trent has been marked by a desire to give back to her community and try new things. She is similarly open and flexible when considering her future after her internship. Although she knows a Master’s degree is in her future, she says that she wants to wait and see if any other opportunities arise, or take some time to experience the world before returning to school.

One thing she’s sure of is the importance of finding something to be passionate about. Her advice to future students and interns, “Try a lot of things you might be interested in and then tell people about them. Once others know, they’ll tell you about other opportunities. It snowballs – which is how I learned about working with Arthur and about this internship.”

Following successful completion of the internship, several Trent University students have landed permanent jobs working with the CBC, including Jonathan Pinto and Trevor Dunn. For more information about the internship, visit www.trentu.ca/gzowskiinternships/