The Global Edmonton newsroom is normally a place of bustling activity. It was a particularly busy place Wednesday when a number of special guests joined the reporter ranks for the day.
Four guests from the Kids with Cancer Society arrived at the south-side TV station to become Global News reporters for the day, an experience that was made possible thanks to an $18,000 contribution to the organization by the David and Tricia Feigel family and Qualico Communities.
The four young reporters who joined the journalistic adventure at Global Edmonton on Wednesday were 12-year-old Aaryan, 12-year-old Hudson, 12-year-old Olivia and 10-year-old Cecily.
The special guests received a tour of Global Edmonton when they arrived before sitting in the control room for the beginning of the noon news. They then joined anchors Vinesh Pratap and Su-Ling Goh in the studio.
After having lunch with several of our anchors, the reporters joined Carole Anne Devaney to begin their assignment for the day: determining who is the tallest person at Global Edmonton.
Carole Anne mentored the reporters as they interviewed staff and came up with a story for the evening news.
Desk to desk, the young reporters went, measuring reporters, anchors, producers, writers and editors.
At first, they thought they’d uncovered a tie between between producer James Burford and editing supervisor Fred Anderson — who each came in at six-feet, three-inches tall — until weather specialist Phil Darlington measured in at six-feet, six inches.
The Kids with Cancer Society provides programming and services — free of charge — to children and families residing in northern Alberta and the Northwest Territories.
Olivia, 12, underwent treatment for a brain tumour and will be going into Grade 7 this fall. Her favourite subjects are math and social studies. Olivia loves fries and pizza and enjoys drawing and reading.
Cecily also dealt with a brain tumour. She was diagnosed in 2020 and has been fighting hard and living life to the fullest. Cecily loves gymnastics, singing, dancing, the Edmonton Oilers and going on adventures.
Aaryan was diagnosed with leukemia when he was three years old. He received particularly intense chemotherapy until the age of seven. He had lots of support throughout his treatment journey from Kids with Cancer and now is in remission. He loves playing soccer, collecting Pokémon cards, eating cheese pizza, drinking bubble tea and playing with his younger sister.
When Hudson was three, he was diagnosed with Stage 3 Burkitt’s lymphoma — an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma — and underwent five months of high-dose intensive chemotherapy. Now healthy and free from cancer, he is just about to start junior high and loves video games, Lego, and reading.