By Ariyana Richardson

As Sarah Jenkins set foot back on the Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) campus, the surreality of the moment was not lost on her. 

Once a student in the university’s inaugural sport media class, which graduated in 2018, she is now returning eight years later as an instructor for RTA 992: Social and Interactive Media for Sports. Since graduation, Jenkins has actively continued a career that has taken her through sports broadcasting, content creation and social media consulting for athletes of all levels.

“It’s crazy to be back and now be the one instructing because…some part of me feels like I’m still a student,” said Jenkins.

Karen Sebesta, a former executive producer for CBC and a senior producer for the Olympics, helped develop the sport media program and taught Jenkins in the first Creative Processes class. 

“She was always very engaged and excited,” Sebesta said.

When she asked the class about their favourite sports, Jenkins spoke about freestyle skiing, amateur and Olympic sports. 

“Right away she stood out, because that is what I do,” Sebesta said.

As Jenkins progressed through the program, her connection with Sebesta became significant to her development.

“I can’t speak enough about the impact of having a woman who got to the level of executive producer in sports in this country as my first instructor and mentor in this world, which was so important and so valuable for me,” Jenkins said. 

“She had to come up in a much different era than I did, and I’m so grateful that I had her in my corner. She gave me my first job at CBC. She got my foot in the door there, and I will always be eternally grateful for that.”

Jenkins was among the first sport media students recommended for Olympic coverage, with members of the inaugural cohort working at the 2016 Rio Olympics and the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics before they had even finished the program.

While working the Olympics, Jenkins found herself in the control room during Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir’s iconic “Moulin Rouge” figure skating performance.

“The director just turned around and yelled, ‘Jenkins, get me the math on that score.’ I was like, I’m a creative person, not [a] math [person],” Jenkins said.

“I’ve never been more nervous in my life,” she recalled. 

“We’re in this room controlling all of the screens for what is such an iconic moment which everyone else in Canada’s watching.”

After graduation, Jenkins’ career has been about adaptation and versatility.

“I knew that things were changing and I always really focused on digital content and YouTube content and all of that,” said Jenkins. “I got so well-rounded, and it proved to me that my career doesn’t have to be one thing.”  

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Jenkins seized an opportunity to learn a new skill: content creation, which has opened doors to consulting for professional athletes. 

While building her career, Jenkins always knew she wanted to teach at some point, following in the footsteps of her parents who taught post-secondary courses. 

With her experience in founding her own content production company in 2024, Sarah Jenkins Media, she was the perfect fit for the Social and Interactive Media for Sports elective.

The course had been dormant for a few years and needed someone actively working in the industry to bring it back to life.

But Jenkins said the transition to instructor was not without first-day jitters.

“I was pretty nervous, especially the first class…I’m sure students are nervous, you still want the students to connect with you and feel like they’re getting value out of what you’re bringing,” Jenkins said.

But after the first class, her years of experience and familiarity with the coursework silenced her nerves.

“I went, oh, I do know what I’m talking about. I have worked in this industry for long enough that it’s like, I talk about this for a living,” Jenkins said. “That’s my entire job as a consultant, speaking about content and digital media and sports and social media.”

For Jenkins, returning to TMU means stepping into a classroom where she is now the one calling on raised hands.

“What I want my students to do when they put up their hand is…actively engage in our discussions and our conversation because it will only help them,” Jenkins said. 

“My hope is that one of the students in the class ends up being somebody that becomes a colleague of mine down the road,” Jenkins said.