Lataevia Beezer is a 2016 graduate of the Journalism Advanced Diploma program – a three-year program that prepares students with the critical skills needed to succeed in the ever-changing field of journalism. After completing several years of schooling in other programs outside of Centennial, Lataevia eventually enrolled in the Journalism program because of the great qualities she heard about the school. She says, “I’ve graduated from a few different programs and schools, and Centennial was by far my most favourite educational experience. Not only do they prepare you for your profession afterwards, but they give you so many amazing experiences.”
The various components of the program have been directly implemented within Lataevia’s professional career. The most prominent skills within those components include presentation skills, prompter reading, editing, writing techniques, how to put a story together, and more. Before her current position as Weather Host at CTV News Morning Live Regina (which you can watch a live segment in the video below), she was the Video Journalist and Community Reporter for CTV News Prince Albert and Saskatoon. She notes that these skills, especially the various writing skills she developed in the program, helped her immensely within this role.
Lataevia always knew she wanted to be within the entertainment industry. She says, “As a young girl, I wanted to be a singer, and as I got older, I got into acting. I always knew I needed to do something in entertainment, and it just became journalism as I got into my early teens.” Now, fully immersed in this field, she reflects back on her journey, which she says wasn’t always easy. She shares, “In my education, I was told I would never become a journalist, so I should just give up. Fast-track to now, I have so far ticked off every box and checked off everything on my list of goals. So, I would tell someone who is hopeful and interested in pursuing journalism, to never give up on themselves and to always be their biggest advocate because if you believe in yourself, you will get to where you want to be.”
While at Centennial, she completed an internship at 680 News, which she describes as a really great experience. Although it was not her first internship, nor her last, she emphasizes that Centennial is like no other, especially since she has experienced a Journalism program in a different school. She says, “I honestly love Centennial. The teachers were your biggest advocates and really helped you.” Her advice to students in the journalism program is, “Make sure that you go outside of school and you run as fast as you can and get all of the experiences that you can.”
She has continued to keep up with Centennial, as she has been asked several times to speak to students within the television course of the Journalism program. She says, “It was really cool to do it this time around because I know the students are adjusting to the pandemic, and they had a lot more questions this time around.”
With the constant change in how we consume media, journalism is bound for transformation, but Lataevia remains confident in its longevity. She explains, “I’m hopeful that journalism will always stay vintage because yes, everything is always changing and we have to obviously go with the flow and change with it, but to me, even when it comes to just reading a book, there’s nothing like reading a paperback. Journalism at its core will always be timeless. Obviously, the way we deliver the news will always change, but with it, we will always go back to the classics. I believe that no matter what changes, journalism at its core will always remain the same.”
Congratulations, Lataevia, on your new role as Weather Host!
By: Alexandra Few