We met Margaret (Maggie) Parkhill last year as a Her Campus writer and a Political Science major, specializing in Law. Now, she is a Journalism grad student in Ottawa and an HC alumni. Showing us how to follow our dreams and work hard to accomplish them, she’s taking Ottawa by storm! Read on for advice about graduate school, and how to get involved with your passions.
How’s grad school going? Any advice for the undergrads?
Grad school is crazy busy, but super inspiring! My advice for undergrads interested in pursuing a [graduate] degree is to work on your time management now. It’s impossible to procrastinate when your papers are longer and the deadlines are tighter.
How did being involved with the University of Windsor help you with your future studies?
Her Campus was really instrumental in getting me into my competitive grad program, and it helped prepare me for my journalism program. The fact that we have to pitch our own story ideas and pursue our own leads made me feel much more secure in my journalistic abilities.
What does a day in the life of Maggie look like?
A day in the life of Maggie… I get up at about 6:30 and immediately turn on the radio to listen to the news. I check Twitter and CBC for trending news stories while I do my makeup and hair. I try and dress professionally every day in case I have to go out on assignment at the last second. Then, I head to class, which is eight hours a day two days a week – plus three other lecture classes. In between classes, I’m guzzling coffee or Earl Grey tea and reading the news or working on a story. After class, I’ll go out and cover a story or interview a source for any assignments I’m working on. Then, I go home and make dinner and work on my assignments and readings for the next day. If it’s a Friday, I’ll go out with my friends to celebrate getting through another week of our Master’s! There’s usually beer involved. It’s pretty gruelling, but it’s really rewarding.
What do you wish to accomplish through journalism?
What I want to accomplish in journalism is constantly changing because I’m learning so much! But I think what I’d like to do most is uncover stories that help people. There are so many oppressed voices out there that aren’t heard. And instead of speaking over them, I want to help them get their voices out there and [hear] the answers they need.
How has being in Ottawa changed or affected your interest in politics? What new things have you experienced being in Ottawa or grad school in general?
Being in the capital is honestly so exciting. We got to sit in the press gallery in the House of Commons during question period on the day that the Prime Minister answered questions about the new carbon pricing plan. We got to have lunch with Tom Mulcair beforehand and ask him about his thoughts on the plan and what his strategy was going into question period. We even got to (very briefly) say hello to Justin Trudeau before he walked into the House! The same day, we got to go to the iPolitics newsroom and the Power and Politics newsroom (where I met my idol Rosemary Barton), and we got to attend the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women rally on the front lawn of Parliament Hill. You can read about the carbon pricing plan online, but being there in person to see all the parties duke it out in the House makes carbon pricing really come alive. You can read about the MMIW inquiries, but standing on the Hill and listening to the victims’ families speak about their stolen sisters really puts what’s happening in our indigenous communities into perspective. My professor says that his number one rule about journalism is to be there. There’s only so much you can learn from your desk. Being present gives you a much deeper understanding of the story.