By Shaun Penner

High Level broadcasting student awarded scholarship

Jan 19, 2019 | 6:00 AM

A High Level student in Radio, Television and Broadcast news at the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology has been awarded the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group Prairie Equity Scholarship.

Alyssa Stoyanowski was granted the $2,000 scholarship, which addresses the shortage of broadcasters from four under-represented groups; Aboriginal Peoples, Persons with Disabilities, Members of Visible Minorities and Women.

Stoyanowski herself suffers from Severe Auditory Processing Disorder, an issue that interferes with the way the brain recognizes and interprets sounds.

“Everything goes into my ears perfectly fine, but if there is background noise, like a buzzing or people talking, I can’t really process and filter out what is important.”

Working towards a career in radio however, Stoyanowski hasn’t seen the issue as a barrier

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“I just think it’s funny I picked a career that requires me to wear headphones. But the bonus is that the headphones will help block out a lot of the noise.”

The first-year student first found a passion for broadcasting when her dad gave her the idea to intern at a local radio station. Having a passion for country music, she saw that as a logical opportunity to follow. It wasn’t long after that the station had Stoyanowski getting fully immersed in everything involved in radio broadcasting.

“When I went into it, I had no idea how any of it worked. But I very quickly started working with the board, and then they had me on-air. That’s when I knew this is what I wanted to do.”

The original plan for Stoyanowski, once she has graduated from SAIT, was to become a DJ. However, she has learned the many different aspects involved in radio broadcasting in her program at SAIT and hasn’t narrowed her focus on just one possible career choice.

“In school we are learning all the different aspects of the industry. Whether it be music directing or traffic, so I am not 100% sure what I want to do yet. I would still like to become a disc jockey, but I am excited to really play with it and have the opportunity to know everything before I make a choice in the end.”

Stoyanowski will be putting the scholarship funds towards her tuition, as well as other school related expenses.