Radio and Televison Arts, Ryerson University, Ontario

Marion Coomey, who taught Brock Groombridge at Ryerson, says he has the ‘it’ factor.

‘Brock has the sort of energy that lights up a room,’ she says. ‘He has a combination of intelligence, energy, drive, perseverance, confidence and positive attitude that always signals future success.’

Groombridge is currently backpacking around the world, visiting 24 countries on six continents. He’s been video logging the entire adventure on his website www.backpackwithbrock.com. Groombridge shoots the video on a Panasonic Lumix and edits on a MacBook Pro.

‘Most travel blogs are done in a text or photo format, however, to my knowledge, no one has successfully or consistently done it all in video, so I’ve set out to change that,’ explains the 22-year-old, who graduated from the Radio and Televison Arts program last June.

Groombridge hopes to use his travel blog as a stepping stone into the film and TV industry once he returns home. He’s also interested in working internationally as a journalist. To gain newsgathering experience, he developed his own internship in fourth year at Ryerson, working with a just-launched online news organization based in Winnipeg where he shot and voiced stories aimed at a student demographic.

‘I feel that if people will listen to me and what I have to say, then I should use that voice to help others and influence social change,’ says Groombridge.