Miss Ireland comes to the Star

I chose to come out to the Ulster Star for my work experience as I am studying GCSE Journalism at school and have become very interested in the subject and am thinking about pursuing a career within this area in the future.

Journalism runs in my family, as my granda, Bill Ireland, used to work for a few newspapers, along with my Dad, Michael Ireland, and my auntie, Karen Ireland.

So with me being the third generation in the Ireland family, I have picked up a few tips along the way.

During my week at the Star, I have had an insight to how the paper comes together and how important the deadlines are.

I typed up a few small articles for the ‘Past Times’ section of the paper, which I found very interesting to look back at the stories from different years. It was also interesting to see how much the paper has developed over the years, from it being in black and white to colour.

I’ve had a good week here as I have learnt more about Journalism and how the paper works. I enjoyed the tasks that were set for me, which included a Q&A which will feature in this week’s paper. I’m quite excited to see my pieces in the paper as it is a first time for me but hopefully not the last.

The staff at the Ulster Star have been very welcoming and I enjoyed meeting everyone and feeling like part of the team for the past week.

I think this week will help me with my Journalism coursework when I return to school, as I have to write a tabloid and an online broadsheet article. Having spent a week at the Ulster Star, I will have more knowledge as to how to produce the stories and sticking to a set word limit.

One of my friends, Shannon Morgan, went to Tonagh Primary School for her work experience. She had a very enjoyable week, working with the children.

During the week, she spent her mornings with the nursery children until midday where she played games, painted and read to them. She also helped the staff supervise the children out on the playground then in the afternoon she went to help the Year 2 pupils.

She enjoyed her experience as a classroom assistant and liked getting along with the children and having the satisfaction of helping them, as well as reading to them.

Another friend of mine, Aimee Orr, spent her week at Blue Hairdressing Company. There she looked after the salons cleanliness and the well being of customers. She made sure the salons reputation and friendly environment was well maintained.

The people she worked with were friendly and easy to get along with. She thinks that having a good relaitonship with the staff helps the day go quicker and makes the job more fun.