Alumni Series

Ruby was a Young Reporter back in 2011, winning in the Quirky category. She said that during her time doing the scheme, she learned how to report on topics in an informative and interesting manner. She particularly enjoyed combining her literature skills with a keen interest in national and local affairs.

After completing her American and Canadian Literature, History and Culture degree at the University of Nottingham, Ruby now works as a Marketing Coordinator for Astrum Education.

She said that doing the Young Reporter scheme has helped her in her working life, as it built her confidence when approaching new people and pushed her out of her comfort zone.

Monica was a Young Reporter with us in 2016 and won in the Breaking News and Photography categories in the competition at the end. She said that taking part in the scheme made her stand out in university interviews, as they were impressed she had completed the experience. She also said it helped her to build a portfolio of written work, which she took to her interviews.

After studying Journalism at the University of Roehampton and working in various media jobs, Monica applied to work for Newsquest and is now a full time Multimedia News Reporter with us, covering a range of topics.

She says that she writes to be a voice for those who are unheard and long term, aspires to be a presenter.

Elleanor was Best Reporter in her age group back in 2013 and also won in the Feature category. She said she really enjoyed taking part in the scheme and although it was a challenge at times, she was glad she persevered and was thrilled to win in the competition.

After studying English and Philosophy at the University of Southampton, she went on to attend Canterbury Christ Church University to study for her PGCE. She carried on her journalism experience whilst at university and was the Editor of the Feature section at the national student online newspaper, The Tab.

Nowadays, she is the Director of English at Reach Academy and hopes to run the Young Reporter Scheme herself with her students in the Autumn.

Liberty won the Best Reporter award in 2014. She said that doing the scheme has been one of the most formative experiences in her academic and professional career. Back then she was an aspiring journalist and said the scheme helped her to build a robust skillset in research, interviewing, writing and organisation.

She also said that the programme did wonders for her confidence as she had to engage with her community in a way that she was too afraid to do before.

Liberty is now in her final year of university at Columbia University in America and fondly looks back at her time as a Young Reporter. She said she has used the journalism experience gained through the scheme to write for local newspapers and then intern at the Financial Times.

Elizabeth was a Young Reporter with us back in 2011 and was the winner of the Quirkiest Article award. She said that she had always taken an interest into what was going on around her and the issues that affect people.

She also said that being involved in the scheme, gave her an invaluable insight into the world of journalism and made her realise how vital local news is for the community.

After studying English Literature at the University of Exeter, Elizabeth now works for Royal Museums Greenwich, as a Digital Content Producer. Alongside this, she runs a literature website, Printed Pearls, which reached the final of the Arts and Culture category in the UK Blog Awards 2019. Her areas of interest are arts, culture and heritage.

Mahnoor was one of our Feature category winners in the class of 2018. She said that the scheme gave her a platform to express her ideas and views and she also enjoyed the creative side of writing. It was one of her first work experiences and she found it exciting to take part in and felt like a real journalist.

She is currently studying Law at the University of Warwick. Mahnoor told us how being a Young Reporter has helped her in degree, as it taught her about working to a deadline and how she has to manage her time to be able to meet that deadline.

She said that the scheme is a good thing to do when you're unsure about your future career, as it gives you the ability to write about what interests you, which could encourage students to discover new passions throughout.

Oriana picked up prizes in the Breaking News and Photograph categories during her time as a Young Reporter in 2017. She said the scheme allowed her to analyse, argue and articulate her views and hone her journalism skills. The completion of her articles every month, also added to the overall enjoyable experience.

She said that taking part in the scheme helped her to learn a lot about her local community, as she discovered information she didn't know about before.

Nowadays, Oriana is studying Politics and Sociology at the University of Leeds, alongside working as a junior researcher at INC360. She said that the writing skills she learned as a Young Reporter has helped her in her work, as she has to write reports and she uses those skills that she developed.

Dylan was a Young Reporter with us back in 2013 and won Best Event. He said at the time that the scheme helped him delve into the world of journalism, while learning in depth about his local area.

Looking back now, he said that he felt the scheme opened his horizons, as he was much more technical minded and it allowed him to develop his writing skills, which he felt he had been neglecting. He said that his favourite part of the scheme was the investigation aspect and enjoying doing research for his article topics, where he found out a lot of information about his local area that he hadn't been aware of before.

After leaving school, Dylan went on to study Engineering at the University of Cambridge and has since found a job at Shipamax, working as a Data Scientist.

Krystina was one of our 2016 Young Reporters and won in the Feature category in the competition, with her article about homelessness. She said that taking part in the programme was a wonderful experience and it gave her the opportunity to meet new people and explore journalism.

As a current student at the University of Bristol studying Neuroscience, Krystina took a very different path after her time with us, but she said that the scheme helped her in every sense with her writing. She still uses the skills that she took from the scheme and also manages her time in the same way she learned from being a Young Reporter.

Her future ambitions are to work in Clinical Neuroscience or Clinical Neuropsychology, specifically on brain disease and tumours and she also plans to take up Mandarin.

Nicola took part in the Young Reporter Scheme in 2015 and walked away with the Best Reporter and Best Event prize. She said that the scheme gave her more confidence in her writing ability and gave her an insight into what it would be like to be a journalist.

Originally joining the year before, Nicola pulled out before it started, as she thought it would be too much work, but regretted it instantly and made sure she applied again the following year.

She said it was one of the best decisions she made whilst at school and was really pleased she decided to reapply and take part. Nicola said the scheme not only improves your writing, but it gets you more in touch with your local community and gives you the confidence to go out and speak to people.

Imogen was the winner of the Interview category when she was a Young Reporter in 2015, writing about the process of roof thatching after interviewing a local resident. She found the scheme exciting and said she enjoyed the challenge.

Nowadays, Imogen is a Sports Masseuse after studying Sports and Exercise at the University of Northumbria and runs her own business alongside studying for her Masters in Physiotherapy. She hopes to expand her business once she has finished her Postgraduate.

She said that the Young Reporter scheme helped her develop a structure with her writing, due to how varied the topics are in the scheme, which she then took forward to use in her degree.

Elena was a Young Reporter in 2017 and won in the Breaking News and Event category. She said that the scheme taught her to work to deadlines and helped her learn how to write about a wide variety of topics.

After leaving school, Elena is now a student at the University of Warwick studying Politics and is currently in her third year. She told us that the scheme has so many skills that you can gain from it, which are applicable to university or job applications. Elena noted that time management was one of these skills and being a Young Reporter helped her to get better at it.

Once she graduates, she hopes to either go on to do a Masters, work in local government or work for a charity.

Melissa took part in the scheme in 2011 and won in the Photography and Extra Mile category with her article interviewing Dominic Raab, who was only a local MP at the time. She said that the scheme was a really interesting and exciting opportunity, as she had been interested in news for a long time and loved the variety that a career in journalism could give her.

After leaving school she studied English and French at the University of Oxford and now works in local government, as a Policy, Publishing and Editorial Officer. She said that even though her work isn't specifically in journalism now, she has to write up about lots of local issues and uses the skills she gained from being a Young Reporter. She is also currently studying towards the NTCJ qualification in journalism and hopes to pursue a career in it once she has finished.

Raveena took part in the Young Reporter Scheme as part of the 2014/15 class. She walked away with a prize in the Event category and said that doing the scheme taught her about meeting deadlines and learning about her local community.

After graduating with First Class Honours from the University of Warwick with a Law degree, Raveena is now in her Postgraduate stage studying the Legal Practice Course at the University of Law and is due to start her training contract with a London law firm in August 2022.

She said that before she was a Young reporter, she felt that she didn't have any work experience or anything to set her apart, so taking part in the scheme was exciting and a really great opportunity.

Becca walked away with the Best Reporter award after completing the Young Reporter Scheme in 2012. She said that the scheme helped improve her writing skills and she enjoyed seeing her work in print. 

After studying English Literature and French at university, Becca now works for the charity, Jigsaw. Alongside this, she has also spent time out in Ghana and France, teaching foreign students. Taking part in the scheme helped her at university, as she told us that she used the writing skills she had learned from being a Young Reporter and put them into practice in her degree. 

One of the benefits of the scheme that she noted, was that it put her in a position to talk to people she wouldn't normally speak to, which has helped her in her career.

Emma took part in the Young Reporter Scheme two years running, picking up prizes in the Extra Mile Category in 2013 and in the Photograph category in 2013 and 2014. She said that the scheme allowed her to become a more developed journalist and that being wholly responsible for the main body of her articles was liberating.

After completing her Bachelors and Masters in Comparative Literature at King's College London, Emma now works as a Venue Operations Assistant for an events company.

She has been interested in writing from a young age, but said that the scheme gave her respite from the stress of her A Levels and allowed her to channel her creativity, whilst still remaining productive. Emma also noted how much she enjoyed the independence and freedom she had over building her own stories.

Amy took part in our class of 2010/11 and won the Extra Mile category. She said the Young Reporter Scheme helped her to gain a direct experience of journalism and promote her local rowing club, by writing monthly articles on them.

​Nowadays Amy is completing her PhD at the University of Exeter in Medical Genetics, but says the scheme gave her a good grounding into how to write a report and  how to ask the right questions.

​Although she has taken a more science based route in her career, Amy said that she still uses a lot of the skills that she gained from taking part as a Young Reporter. She told us how writing was more of a hobby when she was at school, but the scheme helped her more than she realised.

Abdoulie is a unique member of our Alumni, as he took part in the scheme all the way from The Gambia in Africa, back in 2013/14. 

He said that doing the Young Reporter Scheme honed his skills, opened his horizons and prepared him well for an exciting role as an African journalist. He added that the scheme put him ahead and significantly contributed to career development presenting opportunities, which wouldn't have been available without the experience gained from being a Young Reporter. 

Listen to what else Abdoulie has to say about his time with us. 

Katie was awarded the title of Best Reporter in 2015 and also won in the Breaking News and Feature category. She said that the scheme was a rewarding and inspiring experience and would recommend it to anyone considering a career in journalism.

Having done the scheme two years running, she said in the second year she felt more confident to go ahead with her ideas for articles. She also said that the Young Reporter Scheme helped her a lot with what she is doing now, as it helped her with time management and honed her writing skills.

Have a listen to what else Katie said about her time as a Young Reporter and how she is still very proud of her experience six years later. 

Ioana was one of our Event category winners in 2018. She said that taking part in the scheme helped her improve her ability to meet deadlines and also she met lots of new people in the process.

As a non-native English speaker, Ioana said that the scheme really helped her improve her writing skills and encouraged her confidence, as she was able to get out into her local community more and find out what was going on around her.

Have a listen to what else she had to say about her time as a Young Reporter.

Lucy joined the Young Reporter Scheme in 2017 and not only won a prize in the competition at the end, but also won the opportunity to spend a day with the Metropolitan Police, interviewing them and learning about what a typical day is like at the station. 

Currently, she is studying at the University of Kent and hopes to pursue a career in journalism once she has graduated. She is the Sub-Editor on her university newspaper and has discovered her love for opinion pieces, which is what she wants to specialise in. Lucy told us that journalism is always something she had in the back of her mind, but the Young Reporter Scheme confirmed to her that it was a career path she definitely wanted to take.

Have a listen to her experiences and why she recommends the scheme. 

Welcome to the first episode of our Alumni Series Podcast! 

Louise was one of 2014 Young Reporters and won Best Interview for her age group. She said that taking part in the scheme taught her the importance of working to deadlines and it was a real achievement seeing her work published each month.

Have a listen to how the scheme set her up and why she recommends it to future students.