About Me

Jen Gerson, aka Gerson, loves writing, interwebbing and photography.

My Experience

Jen Gerson is a Canadian journalist who currently works as a reporter and deputy internship coordinator at The National in Abu Dhabi, UAE.She was born in Calgary, raised in Port Moody, BC, and attended Ryerson University in Toronto, ON. She has worked at several newspapers in Canada, including the Calgary Herald, Toronto Star and the Globe and Mail.She got her start in journalism at the age of 16 when she began writing for her Gleneagle High School newspaper The Edge. Her first co-operative placement took place at the Coquitlam Now where she wrote monthly MyGeneration columns and learned the fine art of re-writing press releases. Embarrassing first clippings are probably still available to the avid Googler.On her first day of University, she walked into the school newspaper, The Eyeopener, where she was mocked, rejected, ignored and hit upon. All within the first hour. Not to be deterred, she continued volunteering for the paper until she earned the meagre title of Circulation Manger. The titles of Associate News Editor, News Editor, Features Editor and masthead representative to the board would all eventually be hers.By third-year university, she had gained a coveted place at the Toronto Stars radio room, a part-time job where she listened to police and ambulance scanners and waited for bad things to happen. It was a small, forgotten room hidden in the back of the football-field-sized newsroom that has slowly destroyed many a journalistic passion. Jen worked there for two years between internships. She would also land stints at the Calgary Herald and the Globe and Mail as she was completing her degree. At the Globe, she was twice the official Toronto film fest blogger at a time when blogging was still the hip new thing.After graduation, she was hired by the Toronto Star to write for the ill-starred ID section where she won a National Newspaper Award for short feature writing in 2006. Her mother was very proud, and finally consoled that her daughter would not be living like a bohemian. She also worked for the business and city sections.After hearing rumours of The Last Great Newspaper Launch, Jen gave away most of her winter clothes, trashed her Ikea furniture and moved to Abu Dhabi.She is also learning Arabic and hopes to take a month-long sabbatical in Yemen to focus on the language after she completes the beginner levels (and the whole Al Qaeda thing settles down.)