Don't be afraid to take a chance. It can be with editing episodes, suggesting ideas, sharing your honest opinions or creating your own show. Get involved. It's a great opportunity. "

Consistently being amazed by what our volunteers manage to do every day! From interviews to show hosting to writing and production, so many talented people at CJRU 🥰"

Patience and gratitude, sip a favourite bevi while waiting for a digital exchange to complete. Well Done!"

My favorite memory at CJRU is probably my first-ever story, covering the 2018 women's march in Toronto. It was about -30 degrees out that day, cold enough to drain my phone battery as soon as I arrived. It was super inspiring to watch so many people show up for the cause in the freezing cold. As I scattered around trying to get interviews with a 10% battery, I had really incredible conversations with some really inspiring people. Overall, definitely grateful for that day.

"If you have an idea, go for it! Community radio is the perfect place to incubate and expand new creative ideas, as well as connect with people who will help you in your creative journey."

The biggest lesson I've learnt and have really come to better appreciate, is the power of a good team. At CJRU I've gotten to see projects of ours come together in the most efficient and beautiful of ways, irregardless of challenging circumstances. Because of the incredible individuals that bring their own flavour to the table and make up our team of volunteers and staff, we're able to have a stronger impact as a station and I'm very proud of that.

I love watching and listening to all the different ways our staff and programmers connect to music and radio. We have such a wide variety of shows at the station, and they all bring something different to the table. But at the end of the day, we all have a passion and love for music and sharing it with listeners is what brings us together.

Doing interviews to feature artists I admire!

I always wanted to write about music, whether it was interviews, reviews or features. CJRU.ca gave me an outlet to do that when pretty much every other publication at Ryerson doesn't. Sure there music sections of multiple publications at Ryerson but none give you as much autonomy and freedom as CJRU does. If you want to review a specific album you can here, regardless of size. If you wanna cover a certain artist that you think is cool, you can also do that for the website.

One of my highlights volunteering at CJRU is getting to interview some people I really look up to for my show and make those connections. Earlier this year I got to interview a Canadian Olympian and do a radio feature on her!

The highlights of volunteering at the CJRU are the meetings where we get to see everyone. It’s a nice reminder that you’re not working alone!

If you like something or wanna experience do what you can to be part of it

A highlight while working at CJRU was was when hosted the NCR38. It was a very busy time for everyone at the station. However, I feel like we all stepped up and supported each other and we really bonded as a group.

During my time with CJRU I've had the chance to connect with many talented artists in the Canadian Hip-Hop scene. I look forward to every Monday night when I get the chance to spin the music coming out of this thriving community.

There are too many to name (Connecting with the station in that magical summer of 2015, building new friendships with radio/music nerds like myself, having the privilege to interview and champion the most imaginative musicians across the city and country, etc, etc). However, after taking almost a year and a half hiatus from my show, and realizing how much I still needed community radio in my life, my highlight was, when I reached out about starting the show again in March 2020, that I was quickly welcomed back to the station with open arms. That meant the world to me. Community radio stations like CJRU and CHRY (RIP) serve to shine a light to the exciting creators who are experimenting and taking chances, to amplify voices to tell their stories their way, and to invigorate the hearts of neighbourhoods and communities that often go unnoticed. Toronto can be a sterile, desolate place, but I've found that being involved with community radio can help to shatter through the cold, like a lightsaber slicing through an evil version of the Bonhomme. Again, I can't stress this enough: If you are in search of a space to connect with folks over music, culture, spoken-word, social media, film, etc, etc, and express yourself in a positive way..... VOLUNTEER WITH CJRU!

It’s hard to boil it down to one experience. Getting to put a spotlight on artists that I think are unique and important has been an absolute joy. In addition, getting to interview some of my favourite bands and artists has been a total trip.