Dani-Elle Dube is a graduate of the University of Ottawa and Algonquin College joint honours bachelor’s journalism program which she attended in 2014. Ever since Dune was a teeenager she has always been interested in broadcasting and writing.
“I started writing when I was 16 years old. My first story was published in the Ottawa Citizen so I told myself this is what I wanted to do and I just kept going,” she said. Before enrolling in the journalism program at the University of Ottawa and Algonquin College, Dube first tried broadcasting because she thought she wanted to do the tv side of things. Although it turned out that it wasn’t what she wanted to do, she enjoyed learning the backend of tv and news which gave her a skill set and an edge in the industry.
“While I was going through the Algonquin program I started writing for a local magazine and found I really liked writing so I figured why wait ’til graduation if I can work now,” said Dube. In 2012 Dube was given the Melba Lent Woefle Award for her outstanding accomplishments. She was really surprised because she didn’t even realize she was up for the award until she won it. The award came with a bursary so that money went right into her school expenses helping short term with books and other expenses.
“Having that award on my resume early on made people notice it. Just having that recognition gave me an edge when I would talk to people or meet with them. It really impressed people,” she recalled. Dube was always confident about her work because when she did it she did it for herself. She didn’t want to prove a point or compete with anyone else. But when she saw someone else recognize her work it gave her a sense of pride that she didn’t have before and it helped her work harder in school. Shortly after receiving the award she quit her job at CHEO and focused 100 percent on school.
Since graduating from the journalism program Dube has worked in a variety of newsrooms, including the Ottawa Sun where she got her first full time job, as well as Postmedia, Yahoo! Canada, Global News National Online Team and more. Now, in 2021 Dube is working at 1310 News (City News Ottawa) and teaches journalism as a part-time professor at Algonquin College.
Some advice that Dube mentions is, “If you really want to do it, you will end up doing it.Working in journalism is tough to break into but once you’re in you’re in. I think if you really want to be a journalist then make it happen because it is not going to fall on your lap – at least not for a very long time, It all comes down to confidence and how much you want it.”