From homework to hosting: MRU alumna’s new talk show
Sarah Palmer,聽Staff Writer |聽
Graduate from Mount Royal University鈥檚 Broadcast and Media Studies program, Aisha N. Sheikh, 50, celebrated the premiere of her show, with Aisha on Sept. 24.
Filmed in her living room, viewers can feel as if they鈥檙e right there with Sheikh and her selection of middle-aged guests as they blend humour and hard-hitting realities while candidly discussing topics concerning their generation in this 鈥渙ne of a kind鈥� interview-style docu-series.聽
Originally conceptualized for a video assignment completed in the final year of her degree, the project was awarded a grant by the TELUS program and is now a six-episode series available on TELUS Optik TV, Stream+ and YouTube鈥攚here it has already garnered of views.聽
Today, it鈥檚 hard to believe that just over five-years-ago, Sheikh had never worked in broadcasting.
Having first entered the workforce in 2001 as a certified esthetician employed at Holt Renfrew, Sheikh left the beauty industry soon after to raise her children. Nineteen-years later, her post-secondary career began when she was accepted into the Open Studies program in 2018.
Describing herself as having a 鈥減hilanthropic spirit,鈥� Sheikh鈥檚 volunteer experience at organizations like the Syrian Refugee Crisis and contributed to her decision of switching into the Broadcast and Media Studies program a year later.聽
鈥淚 wanted to be able to tell the stories of positivity and overcoming,鈥� said Sheikh. 鈥淪o I thought about broadcasting [or] somewhere in that journalism scope.鈥�
Starting university at 44 years of age, Sheikh found that her struggles were not exclusive to getting back into the habit of writing papers and referencing academic texts鈥攂ut also the culture shock she felt in being a whole generation older than her classmates.聽
鈥淭he way that the 50度灰视频 communicated was different,鈥� said Sheikh. 鈥淚 had to crack that code in order to be able to understand and communicate with my fellow 50度灰视频.鈥�
Being a mature student wasn鈥檛 an entirely negative experience, though. Citing how her years lived have given her a courageous attitude, Sheikh believes this allowed her to stay on top of her courses because she was more willing to reach out to her professors and classmates for assistance if she found class content puzzling.聽
鈥淎sking those questions was definitely a huge part in my success story because I could do that,鈥� said Sheikh. 鈥淚t was a great collaboration of everybody being super supportive of each other.鈥�
Semesters came and went and in no time, Sheikh鈥檚 graduating class embarked on the lengthy process of planning and executing their 4th year video projects in 2023. Helping one another out to complete their individual projects, her former classmate Riggs Vergara remembers Sheikh鈥檚 ambition when helping her to shoot the inaugural episode.聽
鈥淎isha was one of the first ones who started their production,鈥� said Vergara. 鈥淚t was really cool just being there and enjoying the stories.鈥�
After finishing their productions, the 50度灰视频 concluded their last semester by holding a makeshift film festival so they could showcase their creative endeavors to 50度灰视频 and staff across the broadcasting program 鈥� where Sheikh鈥檚 project captivated audiences of all generations.聽
鈥淎 lot of my professors said 鈥榶ou need to do something with this,鈥欌�� said Sheikh.聽
Thinking back to an opportunity she learnt about in an entrepreneurship course, Sheikh applied for a grant offered by TELUS. Shortly after, she received a congratulatory letter saying they would fund six more episodes as part of their StoryHive program鈥攚hich seeks to alleviate recipients of the financial burden associated with production and offers them training to help 鈥渃reate diverse, compelling, locally reflective short films,鈥� according to the .
Recipients of StoryHive grants have to enroll in mandatory crash courses before they receive any funding. Ranging from lighting and camera settings to understanding licensing agreements and how to advertise a project, the courses intend to ensure producers are set-up for success.聽
During production, recipients are also assigned a 鈥渕entor鈥� who is available for answering inquiries and responsible for making sure that the project adheres to TELUS鈥檚 standards 鈥� one strict rule being that all films must be rated G.聽
Embracing the role of creative producer 鈥� or, 鈥渕other hen鈥� as Sheikh described 鈥� provided her with the opportunity to decide who her coworkers would be for the next six episodes. Looking back to the show’s roots, Sheikh chose a few of her former classmates to work alongside as her crew members.聽
Coming from an episode submitted for class credit and taking on the StoryHive project was a difference comparable to 鈥渘ight and day鈥� for Vergara, who was elected to be the director and head of marketing. His responsibilities included coordinating the cast and crew as well as live camera switching, organizing the set and communicating situational issues directly to Sheikh.聽
鈥淚t was an enlightening experience,鈥� said Vergara. 鈥淭here was a lot that happened on the fly and there鈥檚 a lot of trust that had to be built during the production process because there were a lot of moving parts.鈥�
While he appreciated the chance to bond with his acquaintances on-set once more, Vergara found that his motivations behind pursuing the role were also due to how the production鈥檚 topics resonated with him as someone who moved to Calgary from the Philippines.聽
鈥淚 gravitated towards it because it鈥檚 tackling not only the human age group of being in your forties,鈥� said Vergara. 鈥淏ut it also tackles being an immigrant [as in] financial and familial situations.鈥�
Aside from immigration topics, The Gen Xperience with Aisha touches on dating in the digital age, parenting your parents and Gen X v.s. Gen Z 鈥� addressing how the negative stereotypes placed on each generation impact that age group and how a handful of Gen Z guests feel about the way they were raised.聽
Juggling the demands of raising the next generation while offering support to the generation before them, today鈥檚 people aged 44 to 59 undoubtedly carry an immense weight on their shoulders. For Sheikh, she holds the goal that the series will start discussions that can eventually alleviate feelings of loneliness shared among some middle-aged adults.聽
