So JOUR1111 comes to a close.
To mark this occasion, we marked the final lecture with a guest lecturer: Steve Molks, a prominent media blogger with his own website.
Steve was a really good speaker with a lot of interesting things to say, which was the perfect way to end the course. Steve actually studied chemistry at uni and works in an analytical/scientific/technology based job. He was feeling a bit restless and decided to do something that he was passionate about... but he wasn't quite sure what that was.
Steve knew he was passionate about TV and the media, so he just started informally blogging about his interest in that area. His hobby has grown into something almost like a second job! Which just goes to show that if you're passionate and interested in something, then you can be successful if you try. Steve says that he still needs to keep his old job to pay the bills, but his media work is getting there.
When I started uni a few months ago, I had dreams of what I want to do in a few years when I graduate, but I didn't want to think of anything too ambitious. If I decide to go down the journalism path I would love to work for someone like Al Jazeera, SBS or the ABC because I love their approach to news and current affairs. And if I decide to go down the international relations path from my arts degree, I want to work for someone like the UN, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, AusAID or another humanitarian NGO. But I didn't want to set myself up for disappointment, so I pushed these thoughts to the back of my mind.
After listening to Steve, I've learnt to embrace these dreams and keep them in mind. Steve still dreams of being a TV writer full time, but it's coming along due to his perseverance. If I persevere and work my way up in which ever path I chose to go down in life, I can reach my goals.
Steve talked about the rise of social media and all that other sort of stuff that we've learnt about in the semester. But I think his personal journey is what this lecture was all about to inspire us to strive for our goals.
I'm really looking forward to developing my journalism skills and getting media experience in the years to come. I'm also looking forward to learning about the areas of international relations that I'm passionate about, like human rights, human security and humanitarian issues. I'm just going to try and get involved in everything that I can, because the time to start working towards my dreams of working for Al Jazeera and the UN start now. That is what I'll remember from this course, and from Steve Molks.
No comments:
Post a Comment