JEMIMA Puust has spent the better part of her teenage years working towards becoming a journalist.
A goal since she was 11 became a reality this week as the St Martins Lutheran College Year 10 student completed her work experience at The Border Watch.
“I have always loved photography and writing and journalism is a great way to combine these aspects,” Jemima said.
Jemima’s week took her from Penola to Nene Valley and many places in-between, thrust into the role first-thing Monday morning as she carried out an interview at the Mount Gambier Racing Club.
“My favourite part would definitely be getting out and talking with people, but I have also loved writing the stories and seeing how the newspaper comes together,” she said.
“I loved being able to approach articles from different angles and not always having to do the same thing over and over.”
In addition to everyday workplace tasks, Jemima also explored the archive room and viewed the printing press up in action.
“It was so interesting to go into the archive room and read papers from over 100 years ago, I loved being able to compare the old newspapers to what is published today,” Jemima said.
Jemima attributes her love of writing to her parents, who encourage her to be creative.
“When I was younger I would sit at the family computer for hours and write newspaper articles about my toys,” she said.
“My parents were always really supportive of this, mum would proofread my work and dad would help me print out the finished copies and distribute them.
“I do not think my love of writing would be the same today if they had not been so encouraging.”
Jemima had articles published in both The Border Watch and Penola’s The Pennant and hopes to pursue journalism in some form into the future.
“I have loved writing news stories, but there are so many other types of journalism that I would love to try,” Jemima said.
“Travel journalism, medical journals, entertainment journals, lifestyle journals, the list goes on.
“All I know is that I definitely want journalism to play a part in my life.”
