Give Amy Audibert the chance to hold a microphone and stand courtside at a basketball game, and it’s unlikely she’d ever say no.

The alumna of Niagara’s Broadcast – Radio, Television and Film (BRTF) program has taken every opportunity to do just that since she enrolled at the college in 2010 with the hope of marrying her two passions, athletics and communications.

“Every College sports event I could cover, I was there on the sidelines,” Audibert said. “I did everything on the sidelines.”

On March 24, however, Audibert will take centre stage with four other women as part of an all-female broadcast crew for a televised Toronto Raptors game against the Denver Nuggets. Audibert will host and provide analysis alongside TSN host Kate Beirness and reporter Kayla Grey, national women’s team member Kia Nurse, play-by-play broadcaster Meghan McPeak.

It’s a historic event — it’s the first time during an NBA broadcast in Canada that a woman will be in every on-air role in a televised game.

But before Audibert stands in front of the camera, she took to the airwaves in another rarity, calling analysis during the Raptors-Utah Jazz game on TSN 1050 Toronto on March 19. She is the first woman to do that.

Making History

The significance of either event isn’t lost on the Niagara Falls native, who’s hustled for years on and off the court for such a monumental opportunity.

“I’m this little girl who grew up watching the Raptors. My goal has always been to call NBA games,” Audibert said. “What this means for me, it’s to wake up and obviously inspire young women out there to do this but also, it’s to do a great job. I don’t want people to say this is political, it’s a nice gesture. In one way, it’s a huge moment, it’s Canadian history…. In another way, it’s ‘I’m going to wake up and go to work next (week).’ ”

The importance of what Audibert is about to do is also being felt all the way back to the college’s BRTF labs and by one of her earliest broadcast mentors, program co-ordinator Peter “Dutch” VandenBerg.

“I use graduate success stories as a means of motivation for my current students,” VandenBerg said. “Participation in a historic event empowers female students here in what’s typically a male-dominated industry.”

Still, there was a time when Audibert would wake up unsure of what to do in life.

The A.N. Myer grad who towers 6-foot-2 spent four years playing centre for the University of Miami women’s team while working toward her bachelor and master’s degrees in sports administration.

She returned to Niagara in 2009 with an expired student visa and to an economy that wasn’t rich with jobs. Audibert determined she would take a year to figure out that weighty question of ‘What next?’

She took a serving job at a nearby casino and visited her grandmother every day. It would prove to be one of her best decisions.

In some aspects, it was one of my favourite years of my life,” Audibert said. “I went from playing college basketball to ‘What am I going to do with my life?’ ”

Enter Niagara College. Among Audibert’s strengths is her ability to communicate. She also found television intriguing. So she applied to the BRTF program and got accepted into the second year as an advanced learner.

“Everything lined up. I went to Niagara College and haven’t looked back,” Audibert said.

That could be because she didn’t have time. Audibert was too busy taking every opportunity to work the sidelines of NC Knights games and learning the technology that was covered for her classmates in their first year. (She also took on the role of assistant coach for the college’s women’s basketball team in 2011-12 and the men’s team in 2018-19.)

“She would work so hard,” VandenBerg said. “Part of it is her tenacity, but her work ethic was unbelievable. She’d be here in a Mac lab until 10-11 o’clock at night trying to learn something.”

Audibert put in the time because of a passion for sport but also because of a desire to build on what other women, including Doris Burke, NBA announcer and analyst on ESPN, were doing in sports broadcasting.

“Doris Burke is one of the greatest TV analysts out there, but other than her, there were not a lot of faces out there,” she noted.

Doing the Work

After graduating, Audibert continued putting in the hours on the sidelines, reporting or calling analysis at Canisius College, then for five seasons at the University at Buffalo, which took her to the Sweet 16 during an NCAA March Madness tournament.

Those around her suggested she move to Toronto for greater opportunities in sports journalism, but Audibert is certain opportunities like those across the river came her way because she stayed in Niagara.

Still, the big city would eventually come calling and it was because Audibert did the knocking.

“I’m in an industry where you hear ‘No’ a million gazillion times. But every season I’m sending off emails, sending my tapes,” she said. “Even if it’s just a few seconds, I feel it’s important for people to remember who you are.”

She got a sideline reporting gig subbing in with the Raptors 905 in the NBA’s G-league in 2018. After her first season, she was hired at the television colour analyst for the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream.

The night before her last game in Atlanta, Audibert got the offer to do analysis for the Raptors 905. She admitted it was a job she didn’t think she’d ever have.

“When I was at Niagara College not even 10 years ago, I never took one rep as an analyst because I didn’t see it as a realistic job for me.”

But thanks to women like Burke, Sarah Kustok, who’s the first full-time female analyst for an NBA team, and now Audibert and a group of women joining her on air on March 24, that’s changing.

“This is huge. It’s being given the opportunity to be part of something that’s the first, something that didn’t consistently exist when I was growing up” Audibert said. “I don’t want this to be a men versus women issue. This isn’t us taking over. This is us pulling up a chair and saying we can sit at the table, too. It’s not showing anyone is better. It’s showing we can do it, too, and creating that opportunity down the line for others, showing that it’s tangible.”

The following article was submitted by Theresa Anzovino and Jamie Oresar, professors of Sociology and Equity Studies in NC’s School of Liberal Studies:

On March 15, a virtual panel presentation was hosted with NC Community and Justice Services student Grant Hudson and NC Social Service Worker program alumni Kariann Gracey, Christopher Allan and Adam Coleman, who facilitated a transformational learning experience for current students studying diversity and mental health and addictions through NC’s School of Liberal Studies.

The panelists introduced students to their work in community agencies and the issues and trends they are observing with respect to mental health and addictions. NC students had an opportunity to hear and understand what is happening in the community from the perspectives of those working on the front lines and with lived experience. Increased need for support during the COVID-19 pandemic was a common theme and the students listening in were impacted greatly by the experiences of the panelists.

One student shared, “I was so looking forward to today and it did not disappoint. You know when you have an amazing inspirational thing happen in your life, and you know it will never be the same – that was what today was for me.” Another student commented, “today shattered me it was so powerful – in a good way,” while a third student stated, “I was one of those people who did not agree with harm reduction…totally changed my opinion.”

Meet the panelists and find out what they are doing in the field of mental health and addictions

Grant Hudson is a current student in Niagara College’s Community and Justice Services program. Hudson’s position with Community Addiction Services of Niagara (CASON) is based on his lived experience with mental health and addiction. When he completed a student placement with CASON last term, Hudson was offered the position of youth peer support outreach worker, working alongside the youth team supporting clients and being available for 24-hour support through call or text. Hudson is currently working with the SMART recovery team at CASON facilitating group counselling and support meetings on Wednesday nights. Hudson and NC grad Adam Coleman are both currently working through online training to be certified to run a new project CASON hopes to roll out very soon. This project will be strictly youth smart recovery.

Hudson is also currently partnering with two outside agencies in the St. Catharines downtown area. The first agency is STEPS Youth Resource Centre where, every Monday, he spends time supporting youth, taking part in the programming they offer, building rapport and offering his knowledge on addictions and mental health. The second agency he has partnered with is Positive Living StreetWorks. Every Thursday evening, Hudson accompanies staff in the outreach vans offering clean supplies and supporting clients using the harm reduction model.

Adam Coleman graduated from Niagara College’s Social Service Worker program in 2020 and has an Honours BA in Child and Youth Studies with a minor in Music from Brock University and plays a mean tenor saxophone. Coleman has been working in social services for over three years and currently works for four separate agencies: full-time with Community Addiction Services of Niagara (CASON) as a youth/emerging adult outreach addictions counsellor; part-time casual with Pathstone Mental Health as a child/youth relief worker; in multiple clinical positions at Withdrawal Management Services (detox) as a program worker; and at Canadian Mental Health Association as a safe beds worker.

Coleman is currently with the OCSWSSW as a registered social service worker. His primary work revolves around mental health and addiction ongoing counselling services and providing weekly sessions for folks between 15 to 25 years of age. Coleman also co-leads a Youth Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) skills group and is in the process of training to facilitate youth SMART recovery meetings alongside NC student Grant Hudson.

He writes, “As a queer person, a lot of my interests include exploring addiction/mental health in youth and young adults who identify in minority groups (primarily 2SLGBTQQIA+ communities).” Coleman’s future goals include becoming a registered therapist, obtaining his Masters of Social Work and seeing where this wild world of social work takes him.

Christopher Allan is a graduate of Niagara College’s Police Foundations and Social Service Worker Program (2020). While a student at NC he accumulated nearly 2000 hours of volunteer service hours, participated in NC’s Be World Ready program that involved four trips around the world to Amsterdam, Peru, South Korea, and Guatemala and was elected by the student body to serve as NCSAC’s director of Community Services.

Allan is currently the executive secretary for Arid Recovery Homes, which provides supportive housing for those working on their sobriety. Arid was his first placement while in the SSW program. Today, he is employed full-time as StreetWorks outreach worker for Positive Living Niagara. StreetWorks is a harm reduction program that provides safe injection and inhalation supplies to people in the Niagara Region. They work with the individuals they help, providing support with where they are at in their substance use.

Kariann Gracey is a graduate of Niagara College (Social Service Worker, 2020) and Brock University. In 2020, she was the recipient of the Governor General’s Academic Medal, one of the most prestigious awards a Canadian student can receive.

Gracey has worked at Family and Children’s Services as a child protection worker since May 2020. She currently works as part of the Indigenous Services Team pilot, a child welfare team that serves Indigenous families to increase collaboration and support families to increase safety for their children with a focus on wrap-around service connection within the community, especially by way of Indigenous programming. This team is working to challenge mainstream child welfare thinking to divert from court involvement and removals wherever possible to keep Indigenous children connected to their families of origin and their culture, working toward considerations outlined by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Gracey also works as a Streetworks mobile outreach worker for Positive Living Niagara since April 2019 and is a strong advocate for harm reduction principles in fostering self-determination in individuals who use substances.

Inspired by the work of the panelists, students asked where they could volunteer to help. The panelists provided the following links:

positivelivingniagara.com/service-provider/volunteer
pathstonementalhealth.ca/volunteer
distresscentreniagara.com/volunteer/
facsniagara.on.ca/become-a-volunteer/

 

Message from Marc Nantel, vice president, Research & External Relations:

11 March 2021

Dear Colleagues,

Earlier in February, it was announced that the college was creating the Saundra Patterson Memorial Garden. I would like to express my gratitude to those who have donated to date, including our College leadership – our Board of Governors and Executive Team – and the many faculty and staff. It is only through the generosity of donors that we will reach our fundraising goal of $50,000 to help the Saundra Patterson Memorial Garden take root and grow.

Our faculty in the School of Environment and Horticulture is honoured to be leading the design of the Garden, while providing a meaningful, hands-on learning opportunity for our students.

If you have not yet had the opportunity to donate, please consider making your gift today.

Your donation is a truly inspirational way to pay tribute to Saundra’s life, her love of gardening and for Niagara College students, while creating a special place in the courtyard at our Daniel J. Patterson Campus.

Thank you for your support to help make this special tribute possible.

Take care,
Marc.

She has an exciting career in the wine industry on the other side of the world, but on International Women’s Day, Émilie Steckenborn will return to her roots remotely to share words of wisdom with students from her alma mater.

Steckenborn, host of Bottled in China, will be the guest speaker of the College’s Ask an Alumni Anything virtual event on Monday, March 8 at noon. Presented by Alumni Relations and the Niagara College Student Administrative Council, the remote series is held via Instagram Live, giving students an opportunity to pose questions to successful NC alumni.

Steckenborn, who has been living in Shanghai, China for the past 10 years since she graduated from the Wine Business Management program in 2011, will speak about her journey from the College to the industry and address incoming questions from students.

“I feel honored and grateful to share my story and inspire the NC community to follow their career aspirations,” she said. “NC provided me with the building blocks to truly understand the diverse world of wine.”

Having the chance to address NC students on International Women’s Day is meaningful for Steckenborn. Through her podcast, she noted that she has featured many women in the food and beverage industry.

“I try to showcase many wonderful women in food and beverage through my podcast Bottled in China. You’d be amazed once you dig a bit; women-owned distilleries, women -operated alternative protein companies, leading Sommeliers and winemakers … you name it,” she said. “Let’s continue to raise each other up and remove any limitations that we put on ourselves because the only person that controls our potential is ourselves.”

Steckenborn looks back fondly on her days at NC where she gained a holistic view of the wine industry, and became equipped with the confidence to speak to winemakers, marketers and exporters alike.

While her career has evolved since graduation, her passion for wine remains as strong as it was while she was a student.

“I still have the same curiosity as when I first started,” she said. “Many will agree that you cannot know everything about wine. I am still learning.”

Alumni engagement officer Jana Boniferro noted that she looks forward to another successful edition of the Ask an Alumni Anything series, and appreciate Steckenborn’s willingness to celebrate International Women’s Day with the College.

“This is such a great networking opportunity for students to connect with our alumni who continue to provide support and guidance along their journey at NC,” said Boniferro. “This also emphasizes the incredible commitment that NC alumni have to the success of students, especially during these challenging times.”

Join the virtual event on March 8

While the event is geared to students, everyone is invited to attend Ask an Alumni Anything.  View it @niagaracollege on Instagram.

Career highlights

Steckenborn seeks to share her passion for wine with enthusiasts and professionals across Asia and works for one of the leading wine companies on the continent as head of Education Asia.

Her knowledge and global experience were gained from wine programs in the Niagara wine region of Canada and UC Davis in California. Since 2016, Steckenborn has been the exclusive wine consultant for China Eastern Airlines, the second-largest carrier in China by passengers. In 2019, she was named among the top 50 future influencers in the global beverage industry by the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET) and the International Wine and Spirit Competition (IWSC).

To further cultivate her passion for gastronomy, she completed the Cordon Bleu Paris and Université de Reims fine dining and gastronomy program. Further certifications include Certified Sommelier from CMS, WSET L1 in Sake, Credited Bordeaux Educator, Certified WSET Educator as well as being a WSET Diploma holder. She is currently a candidate of the rigorous Master of Wine exams.

Steckenborn is the host and creator of Bottled in China podcast, which she founded in 2016, to share the stories and adventures of passionate individuals in the food and beverage scene who are shaking things up in Asia. In 2020, it expanded to include a global trend perspective, hosting conversations with food and beverage thought leaders and business leaders around the world.

She and her team have trained hundreds of thousands of wine enthusiasts through nationwide training for government trade organizations, brand companies and multinational distributors. She has created and implemented successful national training programs for numerous hotel groups focused on raising service standards and product knowledge across front line staff. In addition, she has worked with some of the biggest wine and water brands to create specific brand training across China and spearheaded WSET APP programs to provide beverage qualifications of the highest industry standard.

Ask an Alumni Anything

Since the series was launched in November 2020, featured alumni has included Jeff Blay, creative director, Enterprise Canada (Journalism 2011, Public Relations 2015); Kevin Rempel, multi-award-winning retired world-class sledge hockey Paralympian and founder and CEO of The Sledge Hockey Experience (Event Management, 2009; and Business Administration – Marketing, 2005).; and Shannon Burns, CHUM 104.5 iHeartRadio Nights host (Broadcasting: Radio, Television and Film, 2013).

Saundra Patterson, who passed away in January, was at the heart of every major college event during Dan Patterson’s more than 25-year tenure as Niagara College president. As a supporter, ambassador and the true embodiment of our NC DNA, Saundra leaves a special legacy at NC, and will be truly missed by students, faculty and staff.

To honour Saundra’s memory, her love of gardening and fondness for NC’s School of Horticulture, the faculty and students in our School of Horticulture are designing and will be creating the Saundra Patterson Memorial Garden in the courtyard at the Daniel J. Patterson Campus in Niagara-on-the-Lake. The garden will be personalized to include a variety of Saundra’s favourite plants and is expected to be completed this fall.

To make your gift to support the creation of the garden honouring and preserving Saundra’s legacy at NC, select Saundra Patterson Memorial Garden and Bursary under Areas of Support on page 2 of the online donation form. If you prefer a different method for donating, please contact Joanne in NC’s Development and Alumni Relations team at 905-328-5528.

With your support, the Saundra Patterson Memorial Garden will blossom into a beautiful place of reflection on campus for everyone to enjoy, while paying tribute to Saundra’s life and connection to NC.

Any funds remaining after completion of the garden will support the Saundra Patterson Horticultural Bursary for NC students.