My final media interview

Halifax, Nova Scotia was one of my favorite cities to visit as a reporter. Rich in history with lots of great sightseeing and ultra-friendly people, I always looked forward to going there (despite never being assigned to work there during the optimal summer season).

But this visit in April 2013 would somehow be different. I took my time strolling down the familiar waterfront, taking the sights in, snapping pictures around Purdy's Wharf and knowing that it could very well be the last time I ever visited the city (thankfully, it wasn't). I suddenly felt nostalgic - for not only Halifax, but for a lot of things in my life.

Within a few hours, I'd be conducting my last interview as a reporter.

Just one day before, I'd been aimlessly wandering through Halifax's downtown core with lots on my mind. Even though I had already made the tough decision to leave journalism in favor of a career in corporate communications (and was genuinely excited about beginning this new journey), the finality of leaving a tenured role for a less-certain future was a tough pill to swallow.

As I was debating in my mind whether joining "the dark side" (read: public relations) was going to be a good move for my career, I looked up and saw a sign that read "Let's Start Over."

The universe was sending me a sign! What other possible reason could there be for that message showing up on a random office tower?

Back to the interview. This was with the head of a top Canadian bank; someone I had talked with numerous times over the years. He always had a great degree of warmth and humility, and was one of the few people in the sector that I genuinely looked forward to engaging in questions.

Knowing my interview time was going to be somewhat limited, I had carefully prepared my questions to increase my chances of him saying something newsworthy. While waiting for the interview to begin, I nervously went over my questions another half-dozen times.

Why am I so nervous? I remember asking myself. Probably because this is it - the last media interview.

There was no reason to be nervous. He was easygoing and engaging, as always, and the interview went quite well. As our time came to a close, I was tempted to share my news with him in the room... but I didn't think that would be overly professional in that setting.

I won't lie - once the interview was done, I felt a little bit somber knowing that part of my life had just come to a close. Thankfully, the interview produced a small nugget of news that resulted in coverage in most of the country's newspapers the following day.

If it was time to Start Over, at least I went out on top!

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