Best of CASE District II Award
 

Institution: McMaster University

Title of entry: Unconventional: The MacCast

About this entry: As a university, we are known as innovative. The same is true of our alumni. With this new podcast, we are uncovering the sometimes unpredictable turns of alumni career stories, building pride amongst our community and inspiring early career seekers to boldly carve out the path that feels right to them. It's an important message to hear that there isn't one clear path to success, and that twists and turns, 180's, as well as following passion, instinct, and opportunity can land you where you're meant to be.

The launch of The MacCast: Unconventional, as a medium for alumni to tell their own stories allowed students to hear from graduates who were once in their shoes, and added further accessibility to alumni stories, extending our audience. Our first foray into this medium has been well received with good listenership overall and attracted alumni at a distance, extending our overall alumni audience. The true success perhaps would be in the inspiration, support and motivation it may be providing our students and recent graduates who take these stories and emerge unafraid to take chances and see bumps along the way as opportunities and not obstacles. As we continue our podcast into its third season, we are continuing to refine our approach. Some changes include the look of graphics with more emphasis on alumni; shorter episodes and less frequent email promotion. What hasn't changed is the essential ingredient of sharing McMaster inspiration, far and wide.