Passionate about digital media, Durham College graduate Cherica Edwards first interviewed at Media Experts for a Planning Coordinator role. Sometime later, while working at another agency, she interviewed a second time and accepted the offer for an Investments Coordinator role.

Cherica Edwards started at Media Experts only three days before what is now referred to as the ‘2-year Work From Home adventure’ during the Covid 19 pandemic. Those three days were well spent getting familiar with her team members and making connections and were all that was needed to get a firsthand glimpse the friendly and comfortable office culture at Media Experts.

Now exactly where she wants to be, Cherica is a Digital Investment Specialist who works exclusively with digital media. From updating budgets, setting up the digital strategy and making recommendations, to liaising with vendors, trafficking creative content, optimizing, and reporting on campaigns, she proudly and diligently executes campaigns for clients like Horizons EFTs, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Bell Canada and Virgin Mobile.

Growing up in a proud Trinidadian family, she has always embraced her culture and her heritage, which she found so much easier to express after transferring to a more diverse junior high school in 2009. When she recalls the challenges she faced during her time at her first junior high school she says, “After going to a different school with people from different backgrounds, I suddenly felt that I among more people like me.  People just got it.  I don’t have to over-explain myself.”

Pulling from her personal mantra ‘She believed she could, so she did’, Cherica persevered at the new school despite some faculty members’ preconceived notions about her linguistic abilities. She completed her studies, graduating with the Ontario Scholar award, Honors for French Immersion, and the International Language Award in both French and Spanish.

Cherica has played soccer year round from a very young age. She would practice in the winters and participated in Rep Soccer leagues, in the summers she would take to the field as a team striker. First getting her start in House Leagues, she then joined the Ajax Soccer Club. However, her winning streak really began with the Oshawa Kicks, even winning a major tournament against Ottawa teams before moving on and finally lacing up her cleats with the Whitby division.

If Cherica was not playing soccer, she was preparing for Caribana, the Toronto Caribbean Carnival held every August. She could usually be found at the Mas Camp helping to make costumes and lending a hand to her sister by decorating a float for the Caribbean Parade. “Lots of glue gun burns, late nights, glitter and feathers.  This is a family thing.  My mom used to play Mas and then it carried on.  My sister does one of the big floats in the parade each year. This is our culture – it’s a bit of Trinidad in Toronto. We always make sure we have a piece of culture all the time.”

Another favorite pastime for her is spending quality time with her family and her close friends or, “relaxing with a glass of wine, and watching some true crime stories…but my family is my biggest passion.”