Montreal Together: About the journalists
Concordia University/CBC student journalism series explores Montreal's lesser-known communities
Montreal Together is a collaboration between the Department of Journalism at Concordia University and CBC Montreal.
Working in small teams, they spent the winter semester developing their stories in text, audio, video, photography, infographics and maps.
Oscar Ocelotl Aguirre
Oscar Ocelotl Aguirre is a graduate student in visual journalism at Concordia University.
He's a freelance photographer, actor, traveller and avocado lover.
He never intended to grow a 35-centimetre long beard, but stranger things happen in this world.
He's a member of Collective Stock Photo.
Safia has just completed the graduate diploma program in journalism at Concordia University and aspires to become a sports journalist. Her work can be found in the Concordia student newspaper The Link, the Saint-Lambert Journal and the Eastern Door.
She has also co-hosted the Press Box Hat Trick sports podcast and CJLO 1690AM sports show while providing colour commentary for Concordia Stingers hockey games.
She is also the recipient of the Philip Fisher bursary and the Sportsnet scholarship.
As a Pakistani-Montrealer, Safia wants to see more women of colour across all multimedia platforms because she believes that diversity is an important part of journalism.
Nahka Bertrand
Nahka Bertrand is a graduate student in journalism at Concordia University.
She is a freelance journalist and a member of Ricochet Media's Indigenous Reporting Fund editing team.
Bertrand has a background in English literature, creative writing and theatre.
She is interested in truth and storytelling.
Michael Boriero has just completed the graduate diploma program in journalism at Concordia University.
He is a freelance journalist with a passion for sports journalism and exploring the complexities and importance of sports culture. He has contributed to the Concordia student newspaper The Link and has covered Concordia Stingers football and hockey.
He was the 2016 recipient of the Enn Raudsepp scholarship. He interned at CBC Montreal.
Etienne Briere holds a BA in journalism from UQAM and a graduate diploma in visual journalism from Concordia University. He has worked in sports journalism, writing and managing his own internet site as well as a radio show and a podcast.
Pat Cahill
Pat just completed the graduate diploma program in journalism at Concordia University.
He focuses on visual storytelling, especially photography.
Coco Caron-Delas
Coco Caron-Delas is a solar-powered storyteller with a penchant for interviewing.
She currently freelances about what fascinates her.
She's interested in the arts, culture, health, lifestyle, travel and wellness.
Solène Jonveaux is a graduate student in journalism at Concordia University.
She has a background in biology and environmental science.
She turned to journalism to share her interest and fascination about science.
Stephane Lavoie
Stephane Lavoie was born and raised in Edmonton, Alta.
He obtained a Bachelor of Arts in human geography and political science from the University of Alberta in 2015.
Stephane co-authored Boom and Bust: A Guide (2016), the result of a year-long research project looking into resource dependency and economic volatility in western Canada.
This spring, he obtained a graduate diploma in visual journalism from Concordia University in Montreal, where he continues to live as freelance documentary filmmaker, writer and designer.
Aislinn May
Aislinn has just finished her graduate diploma in journalism at Concordia University. She enjoys writing articles on a variety of subjects, and she aims to have a career in radio and television.
She has done freelance work for Montreal Families magazine and written for Concordia's student newspaper The Link.
She recently interned at CBC's Ottawa Morning and now works as a casual employee for CBC in Ottawa.
Eléonore Riffe
Eléonore Riffe is a visual journalism student at Concordia University with a background in fine arts.
She is passionate about photography and video, which she uses to bring attention to social and environmental issues.
Noé Sainderichin
Noé Sainderichin is a graduate student in journalism at Concordia University from France.
He studied history and is interested in international politics.
Gethraa Shan
Gethraa Shan is a graduate student in journalism at Concordia University.
She is passionate about music, science and politics.
She considers herself shy, but she enjoys public speaking.
She hopes to work in radio and television.
Kacim Azouz Steets
Kacim Azouz Steets is an explorer. He has been a stonemason, a touring musician, a scientist, a director of photography, a producer, a director, an entrepreneur, a student, a teacher, a success and a failure.
Because of these experiences he has grown, and with every twist and turn, he has carried a camera. He has learned to change lenses in order to see different perspectives.
After graduating with a physics degree from McGill University, Kacim created his own film production company where he completed the feature film Alice in the Attic.
He is currently producing another feature film, Quand l'amour se creuse un trou, and he is directing a documentary episode of CBC's Firsthand.
Agathe Tournoux
Agathe Tournoux is a graduate student in visual journalism at Concordia University, an elementary school cinema teacher for Youth Fusion, a non-profit organization, and a camera woman working on many different projects.
With her Frenchie accent, she likes to explore new universes, here in Montreal or wherever in the world.
Truth is always stranger than fiction. Just look around.