[I]t's important to open yourself up as much as you can to opportunities and don't stop working at your dreams.

Previous job: Journalist (Intern, Freelance)

In what way does your qualification relate to your work, whether directly or indirectly?

My qualification contributed to a foundation for me to have the tools of critical analysis and to have engagement with everyday stories with an intersectional lens which has been beneficial in the work i have done in human story telling. My ability to research has also been positively impacted by my qualification.

What are the key skills that have been useful in your career journey so far? 

• Communication
• Writing
• Critical analysis
• Time-management

What are your day-to-day activities?

Engaging with on-goings and current events in communities and society, reaching out to sources, formulating pitches and putting them forward to editors, conducting interviews, working on strengthened story angles, writing, sources images for the piece, awaiting on feedback from editing if there is any, waiting on my story to go to print, following up with the story or sources if needed.

How did your extra-curricular involvement while at UCT add value (transferable skills) to what you offer the world of work?

I have a few leadership opportunities which really contributed to my confidence and ability to initiate ideas in a professional environment. I was the chairperson of the humanities student council, a member of the Tugwell house committee and both these experiences helped me work well in a team and provided me with the ability to acknowledge the presence of many factors in different situations and how to work with moving parts when it comes to decision making and meeting deadlines.

Do you have any advice for a new graduate entering the world of work ( e.g. how to develop skills while at university?)

Seek the opportunities that you may not know you can in fact seek. Confining yourself within the boundaries you are told about is more harmful to you as a humanities student because the fact of the matter is that the job market is very limited so find something you're passionate about and see how you can adapt that interest (and the skills it requires) towards work opportunities. It's hard, it's really hard out there but i think it's important to open yourself up as much as you can to opportunities and don't stop working at your dreams, but also sometimes dreams don't pay bills so finding a balance is important if and where possible.