My name is Patrick. I am a grade 12 learner at Rhodes high school and currently living at Marsh Memorial Homes. For a while I have been considering journalism as a future career option. To this end I was very fortunate in being given the opportunity to spend time at the Daily Voice newspaper. SA-YES organised a job shadowing opportunity for me which I embarked on with great enthusiasm and excitement. During the week I spent there, I learnt many skills which will hopefully stand me in good stead as a budding journalist. From the daily editorial meetings to going into the field with a journalist and experiencing first-hand what it is that a journalist does. Following a story, interviewing people and coming back to write up and put the story to bed. This has been an awesome experience and has opened my eyes to the reality of journalism. The most important thing that I took away with me was the realisation that behind every story hides a human drama, whether painful, joyful or merely colourful. I wish to thank everyone that played a part in making this possible for me and hopefully I will find my voice as a journalist.
August 7th, 2012
Patrick, thank you for sharing your experience and for taking time away from your school studies to tell us about your adventures in journalism. Your week as a journalist is what we call “work experience” in England and it’s a wonderful opportunity to sample the world of work. Your lucid description conveyed the thrill you experienced and it was especially pleasing to learn of the wholehearted commitment of staff on the Daily Voice. Often I hear of young people on work experience who spent their week performing menial tasks unrelated to the jobs of the organization – sweeping floors, making tea and coffee, sticking stamps on envelopes and so on.
The Rhodes High School motto, “Persevere”, is sound advice for people of all ages and I hope that you will persevere with your school studies and gain the best qualifications while you are there. After leaving school at 17 I had to work all day and then go on to evening classes to attain the school certificates I needed for promotion. I could have gained those qualifications at school had I “persevered”.
Patrick, you have discovered that journalism is an exciting profession and today with all sorts of technology literally at our fingertips it has never been more exciting and challenging. I wish you success with your school studies and a long and rewarding career in journalism.