Emilie Rubayita is using her skills in video and sound editing to build up Black voices in Edmonton. The fourth-year Journalism major produced a video for the CBC Creator Network, and is now a part of the Stories of Belonging project on campus.

Rubayita didn’t have much experience telling stories outside of written mediums when Sheena Rossiter suggested applying for a summer internship last year with MacEwan’s TV studio. She took on the challenge enthusiastically, and was soon focusing her camera lens off campus. 

“I had been briefly introduced to radio and podcasting through one of my classes, but that was my first introduction to video production,” says Rubayita. “Then I got to pitch a story to CBC.”

She knew that she wanted to highlight a local Edmonton business, and found a story in BLK ROSE Candle. In collaboration with Kejina Robinson-Rose, the company’s founder, Rubayita created a video “Scents of Black Excellence,” which was posted by CBC this fall.

“The filming process was two days,” says Rubayita. “We went and did an interview with her, and the second day of production, we went to watch her make candles. After that came the funnest part, which was editing and putting the story together.”

After the video was posted, Rubayita joined Robinson-Rose on Edmonton AM to discuss the company and the creation process for the video.

“To be able to tell the story of how she created a business from scratch and to showcase it to people that look up to her like I do makes me proud,” says Rubayita. “Knowing that other people are watching – especially younger people like Black girls – and might feel inspired in some way makes me feel really good.

The experience led her to take on another video project for Black History Month at MacEwan. Stories of Belonging, an initiative from the Office of Human Rights, Equity and Inclusion, had Rubayita working alongside fellow student Aajah Sauter to feature stories of triumph, hope and understanding from Black members of the university community.

“I really enjoyed working on a project that highlights people’s positive experiences of belonging, both in their communities and here at MacEwan,” says Rubayita. “Black History Month is all about fostering understanding and appreciation of the Black experience, so I hope these videos encourage a collective celebration of diversity.”

Rubayita is keeping her post-MacEwan career options open, but she knows that these projects have given her the skills she needs to pursue many avenues.

“I just know I want to tell stories, whether that's in writing, audio or video. I'll see where it takes me. But I know for sure that's what I'm going to do.”