Tamika Green: sharing the stories I'm passionate about

Studying Writing and Film at ARU was a brilliant springboard, where I learned skills that are needed today in my role as a journalist.

Having graduated from ARU in 2021, I won Apprentice of the Year at the Women in Local News Awards 2022. This was an incredibly proud moment as I had only started in journalism the year before.

It was another ARU alumnus who advised me to study for an NCTJ qualification. With this in mind, I jumped at the chance to apply for an apprenticeship at a local newspaper and have subsequently had the opportunity to work for two local news publications, working towards my NCTJ qualification, passing the exams the first time, and achieving high grades, I continue to push for 100 words per minute shorthand in order to gain a gold standard diploma.

While at ARU, I enjoyed looking at films and analysing historic depictions of black people throughout the years and how societal constructs are woven into media forms. In my job, I continue to educate audiences about issues that are important to black people and people of colour and give them the opportunity to have their voices heard in the media.

Examples of this include my features about the black aviation engineers who built airfields in Suffolk during World War Two and the story of Jo Ellen – a civil rights activist who worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr in the civil rights movement. I've also built trust within the Ukrainian community and have written about their experiences.

Through these stories, I hope to inspire the next generation, particularly black children, who like me, might not have seen themselves represented – be that on TV, in the news or in books.

My goal is to offer representation to underrepresented communities whilst at the same time being represented, as a journalist of mixed African American and British heritage. I want children to feel encouraged to enter into jobs where they may also be the minority, and to be able to make a difference and make a change. I'll continue to write the stories that I'm passionate about because I care deeply about quality journalism.

It was during my time at ARU, that my work ethic was forged. This was recognised when I won the Ede and Ravenscroft Award for Academic Excellence in my second year of university.

I will continue to carry what I learned at ARU into every job I go into.