The following is an account from Ciaran Foreman, a journalism student at Edinburgh Napier University who is a Fellow on the pilot programme of our undergraduate mentoring scheme.
“Through my fellowship with the John Schofield Trust, I was partnered with my mentor Steven Donn, Editor of the Scottish Daily Mail. In my first meeting with Steven, we had an open conversation about my goals as an aspiring journalist. I told him I was keen to take on experience in the industry and hoped that with his guidance, I could build my portfolio to boost my experience to improve the likelihood of employment after finishing my degree.
“After sending Steven some examples of my written work, he offered me the opportunity of freelancing with the Scottish Daily Mail. Through this, I have gone on to have some incredible opportunities. Over the last few months, I have attended live events such as the Scottish Open and the UCI World Cycling Championships in Glasgow. I have featured in the newspaper with multiple articles across these events, having being able to gain access to the media pen where the likes of Rory McIlroy and Robert MacIntyre amongst other golfers, and Neil Fachie and Neah Evans – Scottish cyclists that won gold at the cycling track events.
“As well as this, I have written articles covering Andy Murray’s 10-year anniversary of winning Wimbledon, the reshuffling of the Scottish football leagues, and my piece titled the ‘fans view’ – an idea I pitched to Steven to feature as part of the Mail’s Premiership Preview pullout.
The experience to date has been truly invaluable, and I can’t thank Steven enough for his continued support and faith in me.”