Husein Haveliwala has won the 2025 Hal Straight Gold Medal and Prize for the most outstanding graduate student in the UBC Master of Journalism program. The prestigious award, now in its 25th year, is endowed by Beverley J. Straight and Robert H. Straight in honour of their father, Hal Straight.
Husein thanked the Straight family for the honour, saying the award “means the absolute world” to him.
“As an international student who moved halfway across the globe for this program two years ago, I never imagined I’d complete it with this kind of recognition,” he said.
Beverley and Rob Straight presented the award during the Master of Journalism graduation celebration on May 21.
Husein Haveliwala, Beverley Straight, and their families at the 2025 Graduation ceremony
Reflecting on the 25 years of presenting the award in honour of her father, Beverley Straight stressed the importance of family. “I’ve enjoyed the gift of keeping alive the memory of my dad and sharing stories of both his accomplishments and his antics,” she said.
Over a career spanning 50 years, Hal Straight worked as a sports editor and later a managing editor at the Vancouver Sun, became the publisher of the Edmonton Bulletin, and eventually started Horizon Publications publishing weeklies like North Shore Citizen, Campbell River Courier, Richmond Review, and several others.
Transformational journey
Haveliwala described his journey in the Master of Journalism as “both personally and professionally transformational.”
“More importantly, I’ve had the privilege of learning from and alongside a diverse group of professors and peers, whose perspectives have broadened my understanding of the Canadian and global media landscape.”
Husein Haveliwala
During his time at UBC, Haveliwala completed two internships, working on the “Don’t Call Me Resilient” podcast from The Conversation Canada, and the TV show The Amazing Race Canada.
Haveliwala had a clear message for incoming students. “Stay curious and engaged with what’s happening in the world- whether on your street or in another country, and keep a running list of story ideas in your notes app and don’t forget to add to it the moment inspiration strikes,” he said.
“Spend time with your cohort as you’ll not only learn so much from them but hopefully also make some lifelong friends. Don’t hesitate to reach out to faculty for support and take time to map out your elective course choices in advance, especially for external options, and keep a few backups ready.”
Inspiring work
Haveliwala’s ability to seamlessly work across various projects and produce inspiring results made him a fitting recipient of the Hal Straight award.
“Husein has already shown huge versatility with how he applies his gifts for organization and storytelling in everything from print, radio, online and film production.”
“Husein has already shown huge versatility in how he applies his gifts for organization and storytelling in everything from print, radio, online and film production,” said Ms Straight.
“I was interested to learn from his mother and aunt that there are other journalists and writers in their family in Mumbai. From his native home to the School of Journalism and now far beyond I expect his will be a voice that reveals the world to all of us.”
Beverley and Rob Straight
Ms Straight reflected on how journalism has changed since the first Hal Straight award was presented in 2000.
“Today, the students in the School of Journalism, Writing, and Media are writing and producing for media outlets that didn’t exist when I presented the award for the first time to Nicola Jones,” she recalled.
‘She reported for a traditional magazine, New Scientist, but even online reporting, which she did at Nature, was relatively new.”
Photos by Ritwik Bhattacharjee, and Alfred Hermida
