Algonquin College students take centre stage in global broadcast

In the spring of 2026, community relations director at Ross Video Cathy McCallion was approached by Carrie Wootten of Media Talent Manifesto.

Wootten invited Algonquin College students to participate in her brainchild, On-Air.

On-Air is a live, global broadcast featuring post-secondary schools around the world, offering each participating school a one-hour segment in its 24-hour broadcast to showcase their respective schools and programs.

This year, Algonquin was the only Canadian school featured.

“You know what? I think we’re ready,” said McCallion when propositioned. “I think we can do this.”

Though On-Air’s main production hub was at the University of Westminster in London, Algonquin College students had the opportunity to operate out of Hub350 in Kanata, where Ross Video has its own streaming studio.

Students already have access to Ross Video equipment in Algonquin’s production studio, giving them a foundation in the technology used in professional broadcasting.

With help from the dean and the chair of Algonquin’s school of creative and interdisciplinary studies, a batch of second-year TV broadcasting students were hand-selected to work on the project.

Despite plans being laid earlier in the year, students were given the task in mid-September, meaning they had only around a month to write, shoot, produce and edit their entire segment since the live broadcast was the evening of Oct. 22.

With a total of 15 students working in different roles — directors, producers, camera operators, post-production, hosts and guests — the broadcasting crew had to mobilize quickly and efficiently, bringing the show together on top of their already heavy course load.

Broadcasting student and segment producer Emma Faubert jumped at the opportunity.

“It was just — wow. You think I’m up for this?” said Faubert. “I’m gonna do everything I can in my power to make this happen.”

The sentiment was echoed by the rest of the show’s core production crew — Rae Goodwin, Noah Moors, Ethan Reynolds-Middleton and Dade Dullemond.

“It’s definitely been a lot of after-hour school time, a lot of things put in,” said Goodwin. “But I think we’re all just so excited about it that all the work feels really worth it.”

Goodwin served as the show’s director and emphasized the importance of being the only Canadian school spotlighted.

“We’re all really proud of the show that we’ve put together,” she said. “I think we feel like we’re putting our best foot forward in representing Canada and representing Algonquin.”

Indigenous culture was one of the main things the team wanted to showcase throughout the broadcast, which began with a pre-recorded interview with Anita Tenasco, director of Indigenous initiatives at Algonquin.

Tenasco spoke about the college’s Mamidosewin Centre, which serves as both a place of cultural support and safety for Indigenous students.

“One thing we wanted to show off was that we’re not just America Jr.,” said Dullemond, segment producer and graphic designer for the show.

“We are our own country with our own culture, our own sayings — 400 or so different languages.”

Following Tenasco’s segment, co-host Madi French interviewed Indigenous actress Brenda Odjick, who spoke about the importance of knowledge keepers, citing that anyone can be a knowledge keeper depending on their own understanding and experience.

After the interview, there were two short films produced by film and media production students.

During the first film, You’re Probably Fine, directed by Jules Read, the team experienced their one and only technical issue throughout the entire show.

One of the converters had overheated during production, requiring a reset, freezing the audio briefly. The team rallied quickly to address the issue, fixing it on the fly.

It’s something that was repeatedly expressed by students working on the project — the team worked together effectively.

“I enjoy everyone here. It’s positive.
 They’re so nice to each other,” said Reynolds-Middleton.

“If there’s an issue, we work as a team very collaboratively to solve it. 
And you can tell everyone’s passionate here.”

Algonquin broadcasting alumna and teaching assistant Isabela Arbache, working as the show’s overarching producer, said the collaboration and passion she saw from the students was one of the highlights of the project for her.

“This is a great group of students. They are so nice, they are so sweet,” said Arbache. “They are very, very motivated. They do things (and) go out of their way to get things done.

“This is just the biggest proof that they’re incredible professionals. They’ve been doing whatever it takes,” she said.


Her confidence in the students’ abilities was echoed by their program coordinator Matthew McCooeye.

“I see excitement,” said McCooeye. “I see passion for the project. I see a dedication that can’t be taught.”

The broadcast then turned to another of Algonquin’s media programs, animation.

Third-year animation students Gabrielle Vigneux and Aidan Pollock were filmed doing live-art demos of how to draw Algonquin’s mascot, Wolfie.

“I got to record that with the two of them and I was standing right over one of them doing a hand-drawn (portrait) of Wolfie serving a volleyball,” said Dullemond. “It was amazing that they were able to do that in five minutes.”

One of the final segments featured the program in the spotlight: TV broadcasting.

Starring the show’s floor director Kieran Gill and produced by Moors, it followed a typical day in the life of a broadcasting student.

This was the students’ opportunity to really showcase what happens behind the scenes and how much work goes into all their projects.

Gill highlighted the significance of connections made in the program, making a point to mention that one of the best parts of broadcasting is working together. He expressed pride in the entire cohort’s ability to interchange roles and support one another throughout whatever was thrown at them.

In between segments, co-host Jayden Cruise served as both narrator and a source of comic relief.

Beyond the broadcast itself, the project offered students the chance to build the kind of experience and professional relationships that can be difficult to recreate in a classroom.

Professional contacts made through On-Air could help open doors as students enter the industry after graduation and the skills gained through the finished production will give them concrete accomplishments to highlight as they begin their media careers.

When their segment of On-Air finally wrapped, the energy was electric and palpable. As everyone filed out of the studio, a mix of cheers, relieved laughter and, most potently, a sense of pride filled the then-deserted hallways of Hub350.

“Everything went great,” said Moors. “We had a few technical difficulties, but from who I talked to who watched the livestream, they didn’t notice.

“We all felt very accomplished afterwards and we felt very thankful to be able to do this experience.”