My name is Chad Petrie and I’m currently finishing up my Bachelor of Arts Degree, Majoring in Communications (New Media Stream), with a Minor in Creative Writing. I enjoy creative hobbies such as writing in the form of poetry, fiction, and screenwriting just as much as living an active lifestyle through playing hockey in the fall and winter as well as baseball in the spring and summer. I enjoy my own company by watching movies with my dog, Rudy, and spending time outdoors in the form of long hikes when the weather allows me to. My interests stem from a passion of communicating my message with others effectively and collaborating to achieve a shared goal together.
I am very organized and value a strict routine which allows me to hold myself accountable and complete tasks in a timely manner. I’ve learnt techniques such as putting myself in the shoes of a specific audience to help tailor my communication to a fixed audience when necessary. This skill has allowed me to connect and communicate with various audiences efficiently by understanding their perspective and shaping my message in ways that are easy to understand and interpret. I have many years of content creation experience through video development and content posts as both photos and text. This passion helped encourage my enrolment in the communication program in the first place and I have enjoyed my time developing my skills and working through courses to prepare myself for my professional career as a communication specialist. My creative writing definitely serves as my main passion and interest as I hope to pursue a career in that field while incorporating my communication skills into my work. I’m currently finishing up a stage play which is being set to be produced at the TRU theatre in the early spring as part of their director’s festival. I hope to take what I’ve learnt from this experience and use it as a head start when entering the competitive world of writing to open the door to potential opportunities after graduation.
I think my unique approach of using my creative writing as a form of communication allows me to separate myself as a communicator when entering the workforce going forward. By combining these two interests in a way that is attractive to future employers, I am able to stand out in a way that is appealing to two sides of an organization as both a creative and a communicator. The communication skills I have learnt from this program have made it easy to communicate my vision to directors and actors to help them understand my inspiration as they begin to bring my words to life in their own unique way. As I look ahead, I see myself starting out in the communication field post-graduation through social media management or as a general communication specialist before I eventually make the the transition to the creative writing field later on in my career. I plan on seeking out many opportunities across a variety of interests to gain as much experience as possible before settling in long term.
Communicating my message clearly, whether that be creatively in the form of my writing appealing to publishers, or professionally, through tailoring my message to various audiences in a presentation, I will be able connect with potential employers and network with my peers leading to possible career changing opportunities. The learning process of continually improving my writing is a lifelong process that started with the knowledge and experiences I have gained from my time at TRU. I’m excited for my future and the opportunities soon to be discovered and looking forward to what’s around the corner while appreciating all that got me to this point.