Writing
The Beating Heart: How Narrative Storytelling Transformed a Recruitment Campaign
To her school, she is the beating heart. To her students, she is the one who presents the world as a place of infinite discovery.
When Hanna Prasad first walked through the doors of Thomas B. Riley School, she brought more than just lesson plans for food studies and drama. She brought a vocation — an unwavering belief that the heart of education lies in building a family, not just a community. Whether she is directing "Shrek Jr.," coaching the basketball team, or turning a classroom into a "cozy living room" where every student feels seen, Hanna represents the gold standard of the first-year educator.
I transformed this singular, inspiring story into a high-stakes recruitment engine for the Edwin Parr Teacher Award.
The Strategy: Beyond the Bell
The goal was to move past administrative announcements and showcase the "whole profile" of our teachers — who they are, the depth of what they do, and the lasting effect they have on their school communities. By highlighting the prestigious nature of the award, which included a permanent teaching contract, we elevated the nomination into a career-defining narrative.
The Multi-Channel Execution
To ensure the award resonated with both internal staff and external candidates, I developed a comprehensive suite of assets:
-
Long-Form Narrative Feature: An in-depth article exploring Hanna’s commitment to Indigenous perspectives and her mastery of the Food Studies curriculum.
-
Integrated Media: High-impact social media content and video scripts designed to capture the "warm, supportive energy" of the classroom.
-
Executive Visibility: Recognizing this as a beloved award for executives and board members, I significantly increased its prominence by overhauling the intranet award page with professional multimedia and leadership testimonials.
-
Future Strategy: I established a new strategic framework and campaign plan to be used as the permanent blueprint for future award cycles, ensuring we continue to showcase our nominees in this transformative light.
The Results
By humanizing the recruitment process and treating nominations as feature-length stories, we achieved unprecedented engagement from both applicants
and leadership:
-
Teacher Applications: 400% increase.
-
Judge Selection Pool: 1100% increase.
-
Award Visibility: New award campaign standard.
This project demonstrates the power of strategic, long-form storytelling to drive measurable organizational growth and celebrate the educators who serve as the foundation of our community.
From Grade 10 Dropout to University Success: The Power of the Bridge
"I thought I could get by in life with the education I had." For Sarah Brown, leaving high school in the 10th grade seemed like a manageable choice at the time, until she realized that education was the only way to achieve the future she actually wanted.
I profiled Sarah’s journey to showcase how a single point of entry can rewrite a student’s entire trajectory. Her story is a testament to the "bright future, full of possibilities" that opens up when a student is met with the right direction and support. After returning to school at 21, Sarah progressed from a GED prep course to a Business Diploma, eventually transitioning into a Bachelor of Management program.
The Strategy: Engagement through Impact
This narrative feature was designed as a multi-purpose tool to drive engagement across three critical pillars:
-
Donor Engagement: By highlighting Sarah’s challenges and her eventual success, the piece served as a powerful testimonial for donors. It demonstrated exactly how their support acts as a "catalyst for change," helping students who do not have traditional high school diplomas reach their academic ambitions.
-
Alumni Connection: As a "proud Bow Valley College alumna," Sarah’s gratitude for her instructors and the resources she used, from career fairs to interview workshops, resonated deeply with the alumni community. Her story reinforced the lifelong value of a BVC education.
-
Promoting the Bridging Program: A primary goal was to spotlight BVC’s articulation agreements with universities. I detailed the "seamless transition" Sarah experienced, where her first two years of diploma studies transferred directly to the University of Lethbridge, proving that the route to a degree isn't always a straight line.
The Outcome
This long-form profile provided the college with a versatile asset for marketing and communications. It humanized the academic "bridging" process, transforming a complex administrative agreement into an inspiring story of personal triumph. By showcasing the "whole profile" of Sarah’s success—including how she secured a job directly from a BVC career fair—the feature effectively promoted the college as a comprehensive engine for both academic and professional growth.
