Trent University is pleased to announce that Ariel Sharratt, a graduating fourth-year English and Canadian Studies major, has been selected as one of four students from across Canada who will spend the summer working with CBC Radio as part of the prestigious Peter Gzowski Internship Program, learning the basics of radio production and gaining first-hand experience in radio programming.

“Public broadcasting has always held an appeal for me – its ability to really stimulate and engage people in large-scale creative conversations about politics, culture and even just seemingly day-to-day minutiae,” Ms. Sharratt said. “I applied for the internship because I love the spaces people create for these kinds of interactions, and CBC has the ability to find interesting ways to use that space. I'm really looking forward to being around challenging and interesting people and trying to unearth, angle, cover and comment on the many small tragedies that, lately, can be uncovered throughout Canada.”

In May, Ms. Sharratt will take part in a week of training in radio production at the Canadian Broadcasting Centre in Toronto. Following the training, Ms. Sharratt and three other interns will spend the remainder of their internship working for various radio shows across the country. The internship will run until August 2009.

Originally from Montague, Prince Edward Island, Ms. Sharratt will graduate from Trent this spring with a joint degree in English and Canadian Studies. As a student at Trent, she has held important roles with several groups, including arts editor and co-editor in chief of Arthur newspaper. Ms. Sharratt has also been involved in Students Interrogating Canada, a group affiliated with the Canadian Studies Program, and has devoted many hours of work with Trent Radio and Sadleir House in various capacities.

"I am very pleased that Ariel has been selected for the Gzowski internship,” said Dr. Jocelyn Aubrey, associate dean of undergraduate studies at Trent. “Her interest in the media, which she pursued in her Canadian Studies course work, and her extensive experience with the Trent newspaper, Arthur, means she is very well-prepared for this new venture."

Created to honour the memory of Peter Gzowski, who died in 2002, the internship program with CBC Radio is available to final year university students at four institutions across Canada. Each institution has a link to the well-known author, broadcaster and columnist. The schools are: Trent University, McGill University in Montreal, Memorial University in St. John’s and Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. Peter Gzowski was chancellor at Trent University from 1999-2002.

A highly coveted employment opportunity, the CBC Radio Peter Gzowski Internship Program seeks out students who are highly creative, curious about the world, engaged in the community, and have an interest in pursuing a career with public radio. The selection committee looks for students who are adaptable, think critically and have a love for writing.