Julianna Romanyk’s obsession with comedy began at a young age, when she would watch Just for Laughs, despite not understanding most, if any, of the jokes. “Only when I was 15 and I happened to meet the chief operating officer of Just for Laughs after a comedy show did I realize, ‘Oh, there’s actually people that can do this for a living,’ ” said Romanyk, 19, a first-year student studying media production at Ryerson University. “I immediately went home that night and went to my mom and said, ‘That’s what I want to do.’ Absolutely. No doubt.”The aspiring comedy producer was awarded the Barbara Turnbull Award on Monday, an honour named after the Toronto Star reporter who was an activist for people with disabilities and known for her own perseverance and positivity. Romanyk, who was born with a congenital birth defect, said she admired Turnbull’s resilience after learning about the well known journalist.

Source: thestar November 21, 2016 21:06 UTC