#HumberTogether: For the first two weeks of March leading up to the anniversary of campus closures due to COVID-19,  Humber Today will publish stories showcasing the exceptional efforts of various departments, clubs and individuals over the last 365 days as part of a #HumberTogether Series. 

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, some students in the Faculty of Media & Creative Arts (FMCA) were struggling to find placement opportunities. They were also feeling bad news fatigue as coverage of the pandemic and its impacts increased. 

Enter Silver Linings News, a website run by students featuring good news, meant to give the community its daily dose of positivity. The initiative was conceptualized by the Officeof Research & Innovation, then FMCA became a partner on the project and the call was put out for interested students.  

Silver Linings News became a way to give a few students a paid placement opportunity and a chance to finish off their programs in some cases, but according to project lead Jennifer Larson and then-Strategic Communications and Innovation Manager, it is so much more than that. 

“It’s a chance to find and communicate the stories that serve as reminders that there are bright spots along the way in the battle against COVID-19,” she said. 

‘We started every week on a positive note’ 

The multidisciplinary project employed five students with various specialties, including photographers, social media content creators and students focused on news through an international lens. 

Project coordinator Jessica Harwood, a recent graduate of the Advertising, Marketing and Communications program, oversaw the site’s content creation as a digital editor. 

As soon as the project was approved, Harwood started the heavy lifting. 

“I built the website and had it up in two weeks,” she said. 

“It all boils down to organization and management skills.” 

Every Monday, Larson and Harwood would meet virtually with the content creators, who would pitch their story ideas to the duo. 

“We started every week on a positive note,” said Harwood. 

Each student was assigned four stories a week over the project’s six-week run. Silver Linings News posted more than 50 articles in that time. 

Going global 

The project gained momentum as soon as the group started rolling out news stories. 

“I was amazed. The story ideas were just so varied and interesting. One student created a photo series. She’d visit different neighbourhoods around the City and take exterior photos  – respecting public health guidelines, of course,” said Larson. 

The student, Harmony Multani, showcased what various neighbourhoods in the City of Toronto looked like during the pandemic. 

Another student, Kajal Pawar, originally from India, filed international good news stories. 

“I found it inspiring as a project leader. The team lifted each other up,” said Larson. 

The project was intense and challenging, but Larson also left room for trial, error and experimentation. 

For Harwood, Silver Linings News was a perfect fit. She brought several years of journalism experience to the project and took advantage of the opportunity to build skills in other disciplines. 

She now works as a marketing and communications research assistant at Humber. 

 "I’m an assistant to six different people now, so sometimes I’m creating social content, writing emails, hopping on a PR pitch. A lot of my organizational skills stem from the Silver Linings Project.” 

 The group’s content can be found at the Silver Linings News website.