From Reporter to University Lecturer: Paule Vermot-Desroches Teaches Journalism

A very special email landed in my inbox. An email from a professor at my alma mater, UQTR, asking if I was interested in teaching. To be frank, it was something I’d always had in mind for the future. After all, I’m the daughter of two educators. My father, Bernard Vermot-Desroches, spent his whole life teaching at UQTR. So it was only natural, and perhaps fitting, that I would follow in his footsteps.

Panel discussion at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), with the participation of Professor Bernard Vermot-Desroches (right)

To begin with, they had me teach a course on written communication in media. Then, they added another on journalistic writing. Both these courses were perfectly aligned with my experience in the field over the previous two decades.

Training the next generation means much more than simply sharing your enthusiasm for the profession. It also means listening to what young people have to say. Where do they get their information? How do they see the world? What do they hope to learn from us? What can they teach us?

Launch of a book on media relations that includes a chapter authored by Paule Vermot-Desroches

The academic world has certainly changed since I was a university student. New technologies have emerged and the development of new teaching methods was sped up in response to the pandemic. At the same time, you need to meet the demands of hyper-aware young people who are exposed to an ever-expanding range of information sources. The situation is certainly challenging, but I tend to see these changes as stimulating rather than constraining.

I’m also thrilled to see that as many women as men are interested in my courses and, by extension, in media and news reporting. Occasionally, female students will express doubts as to whether they’ll be able to live out their dream of becoming a journalist. But this has more to do with what they’ve read about the general state of the media industry, as opposed to the role of women in it.

For many of my female students, being a woman has never stood in the way of a postsecondary education. I find that comforting.

Amélie St-Yves and Paule Vermot-Desroches tour disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Trois-Rivières

I’m happy to admit that since starting to work as a university lecturer, I’ve become not only a better journalist but also a better human being. In large part, I have my students to thank for my professional and personal growth.