Mellissa Dzinzi

News Reporter, Leeds Live

I chose to study at Leeds Trinity after looking at the student satisfaction ratings and the Journalism course itself.

Why I chose to study at Leeds Trinity University

I chose to study at Leeds Trinity after looking at the student satisfaction ratings and the Journalism course itself. While these things drew me to the University, the thing I liked most was where it was located. It was far out from the city and it was a chance to experience something new.

Before applying to study Journalism I hadn’t seen any places where I could do a degree and get the NCTJ and BJTC professional accreditations at the same time so it felt like the best thing to do.

My best student memories

I loved my time at Leeds Trinity. There was a lot of hands on experience while studying such as Journalism and Media Week through to running our own radio and TV newsroom from the building. It was a lot of work looking back at it now but it was so fun. Plus the canteen food is really good!

Being a reporter at Leeds Live  

It is hectic. Whilst working from home a typical day is pretty the same day in and out. Wake up, search for stories, morning meeting to pitch ideas then write. It’s not as boring as it sounds but that’s just how it is working from home. I started the role during the first couple weeks of lockdown so I was confused as to how it would work but it seems to be going well so far. I’ve still been able to work on stories I love and feel passionate about as well as covering doing Covid-19 coverage. 

Writing about what matters

The two stories that I have loved working on include: the story of the first black woman to graduate from a University of Leeds course, and speaking to a woman who was rejected from a Quantity Surveyor programme 50 years ago because she was a woman.

Both stories stand out for me because they both show how far society has come but they also illustrate that there’s more work to be done.

How the course set me up for my career

Without doing things like door knocking or calling councillors for stories, I wouldn’t have confidence to do a lot of the stories I’ve done.

My advice to someone thinking about enrolling on to the MA Journalism degree at Leeds Trinity

Do it. I was scared to study journalism because I was constantly told I wouldn’t get a job at the end but I feel like this course set me up and there’s a lot of support available at Leeds Trinity to help you get the job. The staff are lovely and they do all they can to me sure you get what you want out of the programme which I really appreciated.