Sheridan Alumna Wins Award for Outstanding College Graduates

Teenaz Javat receives Premier’s Award in Recent Graduate Category

For Immediate Release: November 29, 2011
Oakville, Ontario

Teenaz Javat, a 2008 graduate of Sheridan College’s Canadian Journalism for Internationally Trained Writers program, was presented with the 2011 Premier’s Award in the Recent Graduate category at a gala celebration in Toronto on Monday evening.

Javat is an award-winning journalist whose work with CBC Radio’s Metro Morning has shone a light on some of the pressing issues facing the diverse communities in the Greater Toronto Area. Her research and leadership have garnered recognition from news organizations and community groups, including the Adrienne Clarkson Award for Diversity from the Radio Television News Directors Association of Canada. In 2008 she was featured in an exhibit celebrating Toronto’s 1,000 creative women at the Luminato Festival. Her stories have appeared in many print and online publications in Canada, India and Pakistan.

Javat currently works for the CBC as a senior writer and researcher on the CBC News Desk, and backfills as a producer and researcher for CBC Radio’s Metro Morning. She came to Canada in 1997 with several years of experience as a professional journalist, but with a young daughter at home, she was not ready to make the career transition right away. When she discovered a program that was designed for foreign trained professionals, her career took off. “I don’t think I would have achieved even half as much as I have without Sheridan,” says Javat.

Joyce Wayne, then coordinator of the journalism program enrolled in by Javat, noted her persistence and diligence to learn the industry in a new country. “She was the most determined person I’ve ever met to re-establish herself in her career in Canada,” says Wayne.

Presented annually to six recipients, the Premier’s Awards for Ontario College Graduates celebrate the outstanding contributions college graduates make to Ontario and throughout the world. Nominations are submitted from each of Ontario’s 24 colleges in six categories: Business, Creative Arts and Design, Community Services, Health Sciences, Technology and Recent Graduate.

About Sheridan:

Sheridan College provides students with the knowledge and skills to thrive in a rapidly changing world. We serve 17,000 full-time and 35,000 continuing education students at our campuses in Oakville, Brampton and Mississauga. Sheridan offers an innovative learning environment celebrated for academic excellence, applied research and creativity. Program options range from one-year certificates to four-year Bachelor’s degrees, in the arts, business, community service and technology fields. We prepare students for career success; 82 percent of graduates are employed within six months of graduation and 95% of employers are satisfied with the quality of our graduates. Sheridan is a proud member of Polytechnics Canada.