MJ awarded the Toronto Metropolitan University Gold Medal at Fall 2023 Convocation
Dean Charles Falzon of The Creative School, Lisa Laflamme and MJ and Gold Medal Winner Mahdis Habibinia.
Mahdis Habibinia MJ ‘23 was honoured with one of TMU’s most prestigious awards for graduating students during the fall convocation earlier this month: the TMU Gold Medal for “demonstrating academic excellence and outstanding involvement within the university, profession, and/or community.”
Habibinia was on her way to work as a general assignment reporter at The Toronto Star (external link) this fall when she heard she had won the award. She says she had no idea that she had even been nominated. “When I got the email, I actually responded saying, ‘Do you have the right person?’”
She called Angela Misri, one of the J-School professors who nominated her along with Jane Gerster and Marsha Barber.
“In a good way, it’s like they were plotting behind my back,” Habibinia says.
During her time in the masters program, Habibinia says she often wondered whether she was good enough for the industry and if she would see the fruits of her long hours and hard work. Winning the gold medal, she says, made her feel seen.
Habibinia says the internship she landed reporting on business at The Globe & Mail, marked a really important moment.
“I worked my ass off, I networked the hell out of those six weeks and I made it clear to everybody that I had totally fallen in love with the place so much, so [I wondered] how do I stay?”
After her six-week internship ended, Habibinia landed a spot in the Globe’s summer jobs program.
Habibinia the skills she honed at J-School through meeting tight deadlines and juggling short- and long-term assignments helped her in the field. She’s also committed to networking, starting at the J-School, to build meaningful relationships with faculty and her fellow students.
“This might sound really cheesy, but be yourself. Be yourself and you will gravitate to the right people and the right people will gravitate to you.”