As I get ready to go to Disney World, I’ve been thinking about my path to becoming a professional fangirl. I’ve gone to the most meet and greets in Disney theme parks, so I have no doubt that’s where my interest in posing with famous characters and people came from. It goes back for so many years that my first meet and greets were not captured on a digital camera. After all, it was the early 90s!
I’ve also spent more than a year talking to super fans of Kim Kardashian and more recently, Taylor Swift, daily. This made me want to reflect on my personal history of relationships with pop culture icons. Let’s go back, shall we?
Before I built a personal brand as the girl in the red jeans, I loved all things purple. Between the clothes, videos and stuffed animals, I basically collected Barney products.
In middle school, I took on a new Barney project: re-selling new VHS tapes. I bought them at a phenomenal bargain price and sold them on sites likes Amazon and eBay. It was a challenging time to do this because VHS tapes were being phased out. I’m not sure how much $$$ I made, but it was a good way to learn about e-commerce.
Can you believe it’s been 4 years since I graduated from the MIT program at Western? Even though I’m not stepping into a classroom after Labour Day, there’s still something exciting about the back to school season. It symbolizes a fresh start and new beginnings, not to mention that it’s a good excuse to go shopping!
Fall is also a very busy time of year. “Canadians are among the most time-squeezed people on the planet,” says Mary Sagat, president of Staples Canada.
With that in mind, I’ve narrowed it down to my top suggestions for your back to school shopping list. This is based on current trends, technology and my own experiences as a student, employee and blogger. And the best part is that you can win a huge prize pack from Staples Canada – more details below.
After exploring design options for months, I am so excited to share Hot On The Street’s new look with you. Hot On The Street’s 7th anniversary is coming up in May and I think this makeover has been long overdue. My favourite feature of my blog’s new design is the Instagram feed in the footer.
I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate the re-launch of my blog than a meet and greet with etalk co-hosts. I have admired Liz Trinnear since watching her win the Much VJ competition from the basement of my residence at Western. She studied MIT too and she really inspired me to pursue a career in entertainment.
Name: Brodie Lawson
Position: Video Content Coordinator and Host
Education: Media, Information and Technoculture (MIT), Western University
Professional role models:
I have so many—too many to list! I love Katie Nolan who is hugely inspiring and represents where this industry is going—she is amazing. If you haven’t checked her out on Garbage Time on YouTube (on FOX in the USA), you should! Her stuff should be required viewing for women looking to get into sports broadcasting. For more traditional broadcasting, I look up to Sam Ponder who works on College Gameday. Her job (from an outsider) consists of working live on set with tons of fan engagement, doing in-depth interviews and sideline reporting. It’s a cool job and she kills it! She also speaks and writes candidly about working in sports, which I deeply appreciate.
