School of Media & Design
Michael O’Byrne
Journalism
Class of 1982
Michael O’Byrne was the anchor of CTV News at Noon, and has had a lifelong passion for journalism. He has been honoured with awards including the Governor General’s Award and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee medal. In addition to his career as a journalist, Michael devotes much of his time to volunteering and charity work.
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Michelle Valberg
Photography
Class of 1987
Michelle Valberg is an award-winning Canadian photographer who possesses artistic creativity, entrepreneurial spirit and community commitment. Her extraordinary success as a photographer is shaped by the spirit of giving she embraces to help make the world a better place.
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Loring Phinney
Public Relations
Class of 1988
Loring began his career directly out of his Algonquin College’s co-op program. His career quickly progressed and three years later he became Director of Marketing for the Ottawa Rough Riders (now the Ottawa Redblacks).
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Ricardo Larrivée
Television Broadcasting
Class of 1990
There can be few more readily recognized brands in Canada’s competitive food scene than Ricardo. Ricardo is a magazine, retail stores, restaurants, website and an online boutique. The name has graced thousands of cooking shows for both French- and English-speaking audiences.
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Jerry Popowich
Animation
Class of 1992
Jerry Popowich still recalls the day his high school guidance counsellor said animation was hardly a realistic career option and advised him to take a job in Thunder Bay’s paper mill. “I worked there for eight years,” Popowich says, “but I never gave up the dream.”
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Trent Correy
Animation
Class of 2009
It would be tough for any animator to top Trent Correy’s career highlight: Within eight years of graduating from Algonquin College’s Animation program, his team received an Academy Award for their work on Frozen, the top-grossing animated film of all time. He also won an Oscar for Big Hero Six and recently for his work on Zootopia.
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Nicholas Tessier
Broadcasting – Television
Class of 2013
It’s a 13 hour flight from Toronto to Pyeongchang, and Nicholas Tessier couldn’t have been more excited about it. After a whirlwind ride from enrolment to graduation to South Korea, this Algonquin alumnus landed on the world’s biggest stage.
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Salt (Jared Lebel and Daniela Chávez Ackermann)
Graphic Design
Class of 2015
Jared and Dani may have started out in different continents and with different passions, but they ended up on the same path at Algonquin. It turns out that when you take a musician and a photographer and add a little salt, you get a skilled team of graphic designers.
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Len Reynen
Public Relations
Class of 2017
Len’s story touches people wherever he speaks. As a young man diagnosed with schizophrenia, but not defined by it, Len uses his life journey to break down the stigma and barriers associated with mental illness and to raise both awareness and financial support.