MATTHEW WUEST
by Don Goodwin

The NIKE Bursary, awarded to an outstanding sports journalism student, has been part of the annual Sports Media Canada Achievement Awards process for seven years Schools of journalism are invited to make nominations from among students in their undergraduate classes who are involved in and/or have declared an intention to pursue sports journalism in Canada, in any of its forms, upon graduation.

Matthew Wuest

The first NIKE Bursary recipient was Pete McMahon, who was a student in the Ryerson School of Journalism. The 1999 NIKE Bursary recipient, Christina Arandjelovic, was also at Ryerson.

The 2000 NIKE Bursary selection involved candidates from several parts of the country, adding complexity to the adjudication process for the selection committee, broader relevance for the Award and greater stimulation of the sports specialty among journalism students.

The 2000 recipient was Emmanuel Moutsatsos, who was going into his final year in the journalism course at Grant McEwen College in Edmonton.

The 2001 NIKE Bursary recipient was Melanie Campbell of Ottawa who was in the journalism course at Carleton University in Ottawa.

In 2002, the NIKE Bursary was again in the hands of a student at Ryerson School of Journalism, Mike Koreen, a 22-year-old native of Thornhill, Ontario.

Last year – from another strong field of aspiring sports journalists, Adam Button also from Ryerson, was the recipient of the annual Sports Media Canada Nike bursary.

The selection committee, headed by Diana Zlomislic, considered candidates from across the country for the 2004 NIKE Bursary. This year’s successful candidate is Matthew Wuest, a student at Kings College University in Halifax, N.S.

Matthew Wuest spent two long years toiling in the computer science industry before his passion for sport got the better of him. While the promise of a stable, high-paying career drew the Fredericton native to the computer field, his heart remained in the pages of hockey magazines and sports journals.

Realizing this interest was more than a hobby, and believing that with some guidance and practise he might one day give Cam Cole a writing run for his money, he quit his job and enrolled in the School of Journalism at the University of King’s College in Halifax.

His determination, discipline and professionalism earned him the Judge J. Elliot Hudson Memorial Scholarship for sports reporting last year and a job as a junior sports reporter at the Halifax Daily News.

A workaholic, in his spare time Wuest freelances for The Hockey News and publishes his own Web site — RedWingsCentral.com, which is devoted to covering the Detroit team’s prospects.