UON Journalism students in line for top industry mentors thanks to national scheme

A second group of journalism students from University of Northampton (UON) are to get their own personal mentor from industry – courtesy of the John Schofield Trust.

The Trust specialises in mentoring early career journalists, and has now broadened its work to include student journalists.

The ten students studying either BA Multimedia Journalism or BA Multimedia Sports Journalism are the second group of Northampton students to join the John Schofield Trust.

They will get a year’s worth of personal mentoring from seasoned industry professionals. They will be matched with journalists working in the fields the students are keen to join. The students will also get the chance to attend special masterclasses in key journalistic topics.

Multimedia Sports Journalism student, Will Oelrich is delighted to have won a place.

He said: “I’m very proud to be a part of the scheme. I’ve spoken to people who benefitted from mentoring last year, and I know that having a mentor will boost my career as I will have the opportunity to learn from their skills.”

Multimedia Journalism student, Jessie George discovered the scheme through her academics at University:

She said: “The course gets involved with the scheme every year because it’s such a great opportunity for us students. Journalism is a competitive industry so the chance to be mentored by someone who has already cracked it and can show you how is so valuable, and I’m really excited to see who I get paired with!”

Mature student Andy Durrant, studying BA Multimedia Sports Journalism, has also secured a place. He said: “As a mature student who doesn’t have a 40-45+ year career ahead of them, I’m keen to squeeze out every opportunity available to me. I have undergone a huge life-change to get to where I am now, and this is a fantastic opportunity to broaden my knowledge further in an industry that I am still new to.”

Mentoring at the John Schofield Trust will complement the range of support and opportunities already available to UON Journalism students, such as learning first-hand from seasoned journalists turned academics and volunteering of the university’s community radio station Ofcom.

University of Northampton’s Senior Lecturer in Journalism, Kate Ironside said: : “This is a terrific opportunity for these students to get a year’s worth of personal mentoring from professional journalists. We have seen the impact the mentoring has had on the first group of students and delighted that a second crop of Northampton students are now getting the same great opportunity.”

Howard Littler, Fellowship Manager for the John Schofield Trust adds: “The John Schofield Trust is delighted to be partnering with the University of Northampton once again to support the next generation of talented journalists. We’ve been thoroughly impressed with the quality of students on the journalism programme – and we’re excited to see their careers flourish with the help of an experienced mentor.”

The Trust was set up in 1996, in memory of journalist John Schofield, killed at the age of 29 while reporting from Croatia.

Find out more about studying Multimedia Journalism and Multimedia Sports Journalism at University of Northampton.

Find out more about the John Schofield Trust.