The Art of Writing

Mona Yeganegi: Journalist

I am excited to be joined by seasoned multi-platform presenter, sports and news journalist,  and media officer Mona Yeganegi today. Mona has reported on many major sporting events from around the world, including several Olympics games, FIFA Men's and Women's World Cups, and more. An expert in journalism, Mona discusses her strategy for balancing multiple deadlines, using emotion as a tool to engage readers, and building personal character through rejection among various topics.

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Brandon Wong: What initially inspired you to work in the field of journalism?

Mona Yeganegi: I am both a sports journalist and a news journalist. I've been working in the world of sports for more than a decade now. I, myself, was really involved in sports growing up. I was a swimmer that used to compete a bit and I loved football, also known as soccer in North America. These sports were a big part of my life heading into university and I wanted to continue with it because it was a passion of mine. Interestingly, I was also drawn into medicine because my entire family was in medicine, so I started in kinesiology. In grad school, I studied child psychology and became a child psychology specialist. I used sports as a tool in many of my treatments with children because sports isn't confined to traditional media portrayals. I believe sports can be transferred to many aspects of life to create a healthy environment.

While I was doing my school work, I was still heavily involved in sports. I wanted to get involved internationally, so I started working at events. I started out in basic roles as a university student, and then I started getting full-time positions. I went to the Olympic Games in Vancouver, and then I've been at every Olympics ever since. Tokyo will be the seventh Olympics event that I have been involved in. I've also worked more than twenty events in between. I was in an environment where I got to experience different parts of the world of sports - media, broadcast, journalism, operations, etc. I was drawn into the media and broadcast, the communication world, of sports. I worked both in front and behind the camera. There are many challenges in these roles, but it is an incredibly special opportunity because you get to meet so many people - the spectators, journalists, athletes, volunteers, stakeholders, and sponsors. It was an important thing for me to be able to work in a big and diverse team.

I wanted to be more credible in the field, so I went and did my post-graduate journalism degree in Canada. I started working in news, did some sports journalism as well, and became a team reporter at the FIFA World Cup because they were familiar with my work at other places and events. I am currently fulfilling my Master's in Journalism at Harvard University, so I'm doing this a lot more seriously than when I first started. That's my story in a nutshell.

BW: You are definitely a well educated and well traveled woman, having worked at multiple international events. You mentioned the Olympics and FIFA Men's and Women's World Cups. I know you were also involved with other high-profiled events like the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) Hockey Championships, Pan American Games, etc. Which would you say was your favourite experience and why?

MY: That's a really hard question to answer, and you're not the first person to have asked me this. I truly believe that every single event that I have worked at had taught me a lot, both personally and professionally. I met different people at every event. I learned a lot about the system in the world of sports. I befriended a number of individuals that I am still in contact with. I get to travel a lot because of these international events, which is nice, because I love learning about new cultures as well as seeing the different ways that people celebrate and stand behind their teams.

I would say one of the big events that I have worked at was my first Olympics at Vancouver 2010. That event would always have a special part in the history of my career and in my heart because it was one of the first. I had such a great experience watching the world come together here in Canada. For me, Vancouver 2010 was a little bit out of my comfort zone as I was quite young and one of the only out-of-province girls in my group, but I learned a lot by being active at the event. I also got to meet all the teams and officials from around the world by being at the welcoming ceremony. Vancouver was, and will always be, an important milestone for me.