Lydia Peever a Melba Lent Woelflé Award Winner at Algonquin College in 2011, has joined the Media Club of Ottawa
Excerpts from an interview by Samantha McGowan in 2019
Between graduating from college in 1994 and coming to Ottawa Peever worked mainly as a receptionist at an engineering firm. During that time she was also a freelance wedding photographer and graphic designer. In her spare time she photographed or interviewed local bands and taught herself HTML which helped with her decision to return to school for journalism.
“I had the pamphlets for journalism and graphics side by side and literally played eeny meeny miney moe,” she recalled. “I was told that if I didn’t feel very social, I would be better suited to graphic design, because there was far more need for a good journalist to be a more social person. But ever since then, I felt like I made the right
choice,” said Peever.
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Melba Lent Woelflé Award
Peever mentions that winning the Melba Lent Woelflé Award from the Media Club of Ottawa in 2011 was very helpful not only for other people to see, but it reminded her that she had done well.
“I really liked being part of that. I felt like I’d accomplished something, especially as a mature student, where I had to try quite a bit harder to remain with the Algonquin Times. It was very helpful that way,” said Peever.
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After graduating in 2011, Peever did some freelance writing for Ottawa Horror. Shortly after that she worked as a writer for TV Media as well, writing cover stories for TV guides. Meanwhile she has also volunteered for the Horror Writers Association, writing monthly columns.
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Since 2016 she has been a teaching assistant in the journalism program at Algonquin College, teaching news
design.
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Peever admits she didn’t pursue a traditional career in journalism after graduating from Algonquin.
“As much as I adore community newspapers, having the mindset that I’m able to expand in my journalism skills to fit anything I want to do, or anything I want to be, only makes me a much bigger benefit to what ever organization I want to be in. I find as an educator, as a journalist and fiction writer I’m most proud of being flexible.