Real Model: CTV’s Creeson Agecoutay – Telling Stories, Leaving a Mark

Fresh out of high school at 17 years old and preparing for his first year of University, Creeson Agecoutay had all the talents, charisma and goals to succeed. He planned to cruise right through University with hopes of convocating when he turned 20 and be well on his way to something grander. Well that didn’t happen, at least not immediately.

Instead he took a different, longer and unexpected route. At the time he didn’t know what he wanted to do for a career, he ended up having some personal set backs and after only a year and a half, he left University and completely lost his focus along the way.

You would think that Agecoutay, who has become one of the most recognizable faces on TV as a reporter for CTV News-Regina might have had it easier. But like most students who face difficulties in their first couple years of University, Agecoutay was no different.

Although it wasn’t all that bad, because during those years he was introduced to the wonderful world of journalism. If it wasn’t for that, he may have gone a different path.

“My student councilor Tom Twist told me about the INCA (Indian Communications and Arts) program at FNUniv (First Nations University of Canada) and said it was a 2-year certificate…so I took that and met Shannon Avison (the director of the program) and that’s how I developed an interest and through Shannon I got to meet Nelson Bird (a veteran CTV reporter and anchor) and other people through the Summer Institute, so the INCA program is one reason why I choose journalism,” says the now 25-year old Agecoutay.

“Another reason why I choose journalism, is because it’s something new everyday, and when I was living on the reserve for ten years of my life, it was mainly me and my Mom, and our time was at the dinner table watching the news at six and I would think, “You know that would be a really fun job, to go and travel and meet new people” and then I would see Nelson Bird on (CTV’s) Indigenous Circle and I would always joke with my mom that one day I was going to take Nelsons job”.

That joke would soon become ‘somewhat’ of a reality later in life.

When Agecoutay was out of school, he decided to punish himself for not fulfilling his goals – so he took on two jobs, one was working at Staples call centre between Monday to Friday and then McDonalds on the weekend.

“Everyday I worked for a year and I would just go home and sleep and work…and that was my punishment” remembers Agecoutay.

“Growing up it was financially hard but my Mom (Claudia Agecoutay) always taught me ‘working hard will get you somewhere’, and that always stuck with me”

After those years of hard work, one day got an e-mail from Nelson Bird, whom he met back at the INCA Summer Institute, asking him to apply for a mentorship program that CTV was hiring for. Out of the eight applicants, Agecoutay got the job and a new journey began, his goals were back on track.

Bird, who would later become his mentor, recalls meeting Creeson for the first time.

“I saw something in him, I had a feeling he had potential to go far, I don’t know what it was, but something inside me told me that he had what it takes…I called him up to see if he was interested (in the mentorship program). He was working at Staples and McDonalds and he wanted a change and he knew he wanted to get into this field of business…so we started out, he got the job and right off the bat, he was young and learning the ropes learning from a lot of people, the whole crew at CTV, everything from editing to photography to videos to interview techniques”.

For Agecoutay, having a mentor like Bird was a life changer.

“He’s a great teacher, a great mentor, he’s always helped me down this path of journalism…and whenever I have a question or if I just need direction, he’s always there to quickly give me some info I need.”Since then, Agecoutay has become quite the accomplished journalist and reporter.

Come September, he will have been with CTV for six years. He also went back to school and finished his journalism degree at the University of Regina and finally convocated this past June. On his Facebook, he posted a picture of himself in full cap and gown beside him Mom with the caption, “I did it Mom!”

Agecoutay has also grown out of Bird’s shadows, so much that Bird doesn’t consider being his mentor anymore.

“He’s almost equal to me in a sense that he has the degree now, he’s got the experience, he can go do a story without being guided or given advice, but he’s come a long way, and he’s probably the best video journalist we have here at CTV Regina…We also became good buddies, good friends right from the start, so he’s like family to me, I consider him my son almost, because he’s following in my foot steps” says Bird.

So if you can imagine another First Nations teenager sitting at home right now with their parents watching the six o clock news and seeing Creeson Agecoutay reporting the news everyday – then there is something powerful going on there without possibly knowing it. Perhaps what Creeson saw in Nelson years ago is what ‘that’ teenager is now seeing in Creeson. And if that’s the case, then the next Creeson Agecoutay is well on their way. It’s not impossible.

Story by Chris Tyrone Ross / Photos by Ryan Peterman for Leftboot Productions 

This Story was originally published in RezXSouth Magazine Premier Edition, July 2013

UPDATE: Creeson Agecoutay was recently hired as the new host of CTV’s Indigenous Circle taking over former host Nelson Bird, who was also promoted at CTV as Associate Editor