ABOUT ME
BACKGROUND
Born and educated in Lincolnshire, I have lived in the market town of Newark in Nottinghamshire for most of my life. We all talk down on our home town at times but, for me, Newark is exactly that: home. I am proud of and passionate about my town and the East Midlands and contributing in any way I can to its development is a motivation for me. This is why I'm delighted to be a teacher at one of my local schools which has seen such progress over the last 5/6 years. It's an honour to serve my community in this way.
Family and friends are important to me and I was fortunate and privileged enough to grow up in a household with three strong parental figures in my life: my mum, my grandma and my grandad. They have shaped my morality and my sense of responsibility and duty to my family, friends, community, nation and as a global citizen.
My passions are: news and current affairs, politics, sustainability and climate change, matters of equality and justice, keeping active at the gym and football (Arsenal - unfortunately).
WORK HISTORY
SkillS
VISUAL
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Self-producing reports from beginning to end
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Live presenting and reporting from a TV studio or on-location with authority and flair
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Operating video editing software (including Adobe Premiere Pro) and equipment
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Optimising social media by creating and uploading creative and engaging video content
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Passionate about telling stories via video and social media
General journalism
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Excellent spelling and grammar
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Producing regular, accurate, high quality content for audiences
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Excellent news sense and editorial judgement across a range of news genres
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Self-sufficient, organised, motivated and reliable
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Good knowledge of media regulation, law and ethics
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Conducting interviews
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Experienced in running social media accounts
AUDIO
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Authoritative and competent news bulletin reader
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Self-producing creative and compelling news packages
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Experience of live presenting/hosting current affairs programmes on Ofcom-licensed radio stations
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Using news programmes (e.g. Burli)
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Using a range of audio editing software (including Adobe Audition)
EDUCATION
TEACHING: Due to a host of unfortunate personal circumstances I started thinking about a career away from journalism in 2018. At the same time I saw there was a severe shortage of teachers and I wanted to play my part in helping this situation. Despite not having a degree in Geography, I decided to become a teacher in the subject due to my passion and interest in climate change and sustainability. A lot of hard work has been done since to ensure I am an expert in the subject as well as an effective teacher utilising the latest and most effective teaching methods. I gained my Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and my PGCE from the University of Nottingham in 2020 and am now completing my Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) year during one of the most tumultuous years in the history of education as a result of COVID-19.
UNIVERSITY: After taking a gap year working in a supermarket in order to save up some money, I studied Journalism BA (Hons) at the University of Lincoln between 2014-2017. I graduated with a first-class honours in 2017 as well as completing the NCTJ Diploma with grades A-C in all modules. My course was accredited by the NCTJ (National Council for the Training of Journalists), the BJTC (Broadcast Journalism Training Council) and the PPA (Professional Publishers Association) while also being recognised for excellence by the European Journalism Training Association.
A LEVELs: I achieved grades B-B-C for my A Levels in English language, Geography and Economics respectively. Frustratingly, I ended up being around a total of five marks off achieving A-A-B but, hey, that's the way things go sometimes. It's fine margins. In my AS Levels, I finished with a grade B in history and a C in general studies.
GCSEs: I finished my GCSEs with a total of 1 x A*, 6 x A and 3 x B. I also passed my ECDL (European Computer Driving License) course which proved my competency in using both basic and more advanced functions of Microsoft Office, Windows operating systems and the internet.