Moyo Lawuyi | From starting a news outlet at her high school to excitedly entering her second year as a journalism student at Toronto Metropolitan University
Moyo graduated from Rosedale Global High School with partner Maple Canadian College, located in Nigeria. This fall, she will begin her second year studying Journalism at Toronto Metropolitan University in Canada.
Moyo has always loved storytelling; she’s passionate about learning from people in her community and sharing their experiences, thoughts and expertise with others. With the belief that she can slowly change the word for the better by providing communities with relevant information that informs action, Moyo set her sights on studying journalism in Canada at an early age—and more specifically, the prestigious Toronto Metropolitan University, whose journalism and media alumni pursue careers in organizations such as the CBC, the Toronto Star, the Globe and Mail, and other top news organizations around the world. Moyo, too, will follow this path.
“At Maple Canadian College, I founded Maple Press. It was an idea that I pitched to a teacher, we had a website and would publish different stories about people in our community and things we were passionate about,” Moyo says.
After receiving offers of acceptance to journalism programs from Carleton University, MacEwan University, Toronto Metropolitan University and the University of Alberta, Moyo had the opportunity to decide which of these Canadian universities would best foster her skills and support a career that aligned with her unique interests. Moyo considered enrolling at the school in the heart of Canada’s capital city, Ottawa. However, she felt drawn to Toronto, where she felt she would speak to a more diverse population and have the opportunity to tell stories of the world’s most multicultural city.
The transition into higher education was easier for Moyo than some of her peers, thanks to the transformative education she received through Rosedale’s Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD). She speaks now as a confident university student who is frequently reaching out to strangers to conduct interviews for her articles. Rosedale’s approach in diverse evaluations for OSSD courses gave Moyo more opportunities to practice public speaking, collaboration and critical thinking skills, ultimately providing her a head start in university.
“I have some friends that just went to a Nigerian secondary school, they find it more difficult to do well on their university assignments and in their classes. But because I took the OSSD, I already know how to structure my writing, properly cite my work, source relevant information and organize my time productively,” Moyo explains. “It’s easier for me to do well in my university program.”
The OSSD program empowered Moyo to build confidence in her academic abilities. The high school student whose passion led her to starting Maple Press is now a university student building a future career that aligns with her interests, skills and passion for making change in the world—one story at a time
“I would like to become a successful journalist in the future—maybe working for an international network like the BBC or CNN, or I will return to Nigeria to establish my own news network. I want to properly inform people so they can make political decisions that can better their countries,” says Moyo. “Toronto Metropolitan University will provide me with the best journalism education and the best opportunities to achieve these goals.”
