He shoots, he scores!

Mount Royal University has a long history of producing top quality graduates ready to excel in the broadcasting industry. One of Mount Royal's prominent graduates is Harnarayan Singh. Currently in his ninth season of his dream job, the Mount Royal alumnus works as host and play-by-play commentator for Hockey Night in Canada's Punjabi edition.

Singh, who began his broadcasting career with an internship from TSN, cut his teeth hosting his own radio show while at Mount Royal called "PowerPlay." Singh says him ending up at Mount Royal or TSN for that matter was no coincidence.

"What made me choose Mount Royal was how it was a well-respected and reputable institution within the news and sports industry and the fact that previous graduates of the program had gone onto earning an internship with TSN," he says.

Still invested in the institution that helped him hone his craft, Singh sees Mount Royal's new major as a massive positive for prospective students.

"Students can expect to have a hands-on experience learning the exact skills and knowledge needed to succeed in media. I was thankfully able to report from the field on my very first day in the industry at CBC Radio because Mount Royal had prepared me well enough to do so - whereas others from different post-secondary institutions needed weeks of extra training," Singh adds.

Mount Royal University started offering a four-year undergraduate Broadcast Media Studies (BMS) major in Fall 2016. The major is the first of its kind in Western Canada, with the only other comparable major in the nation being found at Ryerson University.

The new major replaces the University's former two-year diploma program. Broadcast Media Studies joins Journalism, Public Relations and Information Design as Bachelor degree majors in the School of Communication Studies at Mount Royal.

Media is an ever changing industry, and Mount Royal's newest major will respond to the industry's evolution as students will be offered first rate, 21st Century grounding in media production, with a rich balance of theory and practice.

The next generation of broadcasting professionals will need to be thoughtful and resourceful, not simply button-pushers. Brad Clark, Chair of Journalism and Broadcast Media Studies in the School of Communication Studies, sees the first wave of Broadcast Media Studies graduates as potential trendsetters and industry leaders.

"The industry needs graduates who aren't afraid of change; who aren't afraid to make the case for high ethics and public service; who are keen to find creative approaches to utilize emerging technologies. Those are the qualities we hope to instill in our next crop of students," he says.

As someone with these qualities and traits, Singh hopes to see Mount Royal graduates continue to make a positive impact with the broadcast media landscape.

"Follow your passion but be ready to learn as many different skill sets as possible. It comes in handy to know how to do a little bit of everything," says Singh.

"I started out as a news reporter and eventually achieved my dream of working in sports. Be patient, work hard and stick with it."