Maria Saros Leung: A Grad Who Keeps on Growing
Posted by noviellim on April 25, 2008
by Michelle Novielli, Corporate Communications ‘08
Maria Saros Leung’s career is unfolding one stage at a time. After completing Centennial College’s Corporate Communications and Public Relations program, Saros Leung is continuing to learn on the job.
“Going places to get exposure or education is a healthy attitude to have,” says Saros Leung, who is now an internal communications correspondent for the University of Toronto. “When just starting a career, you want to get your hands into a lot of things.
After studying anthropology at the University of Toronto, Saros Leung graduated in 2001 knowing she liked to write. “It was the only thing I was good at,” she says laughing. With this strength, she enrolled at Centennial College. Though she didn’t know much about the communications industry, she says, “I was attracted to the program primarily from my love for writing.”
By the end of the program in 2003, Saros Leung had learned a new writing approach. “I became direct, compelling and brief,” she says. “That was a big part of the program.”
After an internship with Canadian Tire, Saros Leung began her first industry position with the University of Toronto as an assistant communications officer in the Office of the Vice-President, Research. Here, she further refined her writing skills by translating complex research material into conversational language for various publications.
Saros Leung then accepted a position as the marketing and communications officer in the university’s Faculty of Pharmacy. In this role, she launched a research magazine, alumni newsletter and developed a marketing and communications plan.
Currently, Saros Leung works in the university’s Office of Strategic Communications where she writes for The Bulletin – the university’s faculty and staff newspaper and the eBull, the internal e-newsletter. With 12,000 faculty and staff members across the university’s three campuses, Saros Leung says, “People across the university love the immediacy of having news in their inbox. “To have one vehicle for that is very useful.”
By undertaking many communications initiatives for the university, Saros Leung says she has also furthered her passion. “I love writing, pitching, planning and the excitement of working with journalists.
“It’s the kind of job where you learn something new and meet people every day,” she says. “At the heart of it, you have to have a love for learning; it’s what drives people.”
