Canadian newcomer and former journalist pursues new PR career
Anastasia Sukhoretskaya could be the poster child for multiculturalism. The proud new Canadian grew up in Russia, then worked in China, before immigrating to Vancouver in 2023. Anastasia not only speaks five languages but also boasts international experience in teaching and journalism. As a student in the Public Relations Certificate program, she’s now well on her way to a thriving public relations career.
Anastasia says she counts herself lucky to hail from the ethnically diverse region of Tatarstan. Her early exposure to so many different cultures sparked her interest in cross-cultural communication, and in 2009, she moved to Beijing on a scholarship. She remembers falling in love with the Chinese culture and the Mandarin language. After teaching English in China for three years, she decided to pursue a second master’s degree, this time in international journalism.
“I feel like I'm a very curious person by nature,” Anastasia explains. “I started to feel like I could do more than teach and wanted to explore a career in the media.”
In Beijing, she found work at a TV station where she did translation and on-camera interviews. As much as she enjoyed travelling around China and meeting interesting people, Anastasia says she eventually felt she’d hit a ceiling. Certain that greater opportunities were waiting elsewhere, she made the move to Canada.
In search of a new career, Anastasia hoped to parlay her communication skills into a PR role. Thanks to a friend’s recommendation, she soon landed a public relations position with a sustainable energy company in Vancouver. But Anastasia knew she had more to learn that only formal training could provide.
“When I arrived in Canada,” she says, “I was looking to continue my education that would complement my work experience and let me learn more about Canada and how Canada works.”
She began reaching out to people in Vancouver who work in public relations. “I found out that the majority of people I talked to either graduated with an SFU communications degree or pursued the Public Relations Certificate program at SFU,” she says.
The availability of the StrongerBC future skills grant sealed the deal for Anastasia, and she enrolled in the certificate program in fall 2024. While she says she would have taken the program even without the grant, she was happy to see how much of her tuition was covered. “For a newcomer like myself, these costs can definitely be a burden on the budget,” she notes.
Because she works full time, Anastasia says she’s grateful for the pace and flexibility of the online courses and is easily juggling her job and her studies, while also applying her growing knowledge to her current role.
While her journalism background was helpful as she learned about working with the media and creating compelling stories, Anastasia still discovered aspects of PR that were new to her. One such area was the program’s attention to advancing reconciliation.
“I learned how to craft a PR campaign for Indigenous audiences, which was eye opening,” she says. “In Canada, there is a very strong emphasis on Indigenous relations, and that was new for me. But I’m very grateful to learn it. No other PR course would teach you that.”
She was also pleasantly surprised by the program’s focus on ethics and responsibility. “In PR, you’re not just serving your company or organization, but rather you are shaping perceptions, even shaping the world,” she explains. “So, the program emphasizes that you need to make positive contributions to your society. I did not expect that, but I really appreciated it.
“I feel like we’re being trained to make the world a better place,” she adds with a smile. With her passion for cross-cultural understanding and making a positive difference, Anastasia will no doubt do just that.
By Kim Mah