When Taylor Toovey graduated from Griffith University this week with a Bachelor of Journalism, she received her testamur with the knowledge that she already had employment lined up.
Among a range of contributing factors that set the 20-year-old up in this position was an article published by the Griffith Review earlier this year.
In a special interactive piece,‘From the ground up’— a Griffith University collaboration between Griffith Review, the Policy Innovation Hub and LiveWorm South Bank — Taylor Toovey tells the story of Substation 33, a Kingston warehouse where unwanted electronics are repurposed by Work for the Dole program volunteers.
“I had attached the Substation 33 piece to my resume when I was job hunting,” Taylor (left) said.
“My goal was to gain employment before I graduated from university and two days before my graduation on Wednesday, I was offered a job at a marketing and communications business as their writer.
“I think that the Substation 33 piece, along with some other articles I had written over the course of my degree, helped demonstrate how I can write in various styles, on all kinds of topics, for different publications. So I have definitely gained a lot from adding this unique piece to my portfolio.”
The opportunity to write for Griffith Review came about when Griffith University Journalist-in-residence, Nance Haxton, approached Taylor with the suggestion.
“Nance had previously taught me in radio journalism so it was reallywonderful to berecognisedfor the effort I had been putting into my classes and for her to refer me to her colleagues,” Taylor said.
When it came to researching, writing and publishing the piece, Taylor enjoyed support and guidance from many corners of the Griffith community.
“Julie Blakey (Policy Innovation Hub) and Jerath Head (Griffith Review) were very helpful in guiding me through the process of writing something so unique and different to anything I had previously written.
“Jerath gave me a lot of background information on Substation 33 (photographed below) and assisted in the editing process. Julie accompanied me to Substation 33 where I met the team, had a look around and interviewed several workers.
“I also visited Nance for her advice on writing this piece and she provided really helpful edits and suggestions. It was definitely a process of constantly checking in with every person I had at my disposal to ensure it would be an incredible reflection of the fantastic work and innovation that goes on at Substation 33.”
David Sargent, Creative Director of LiveWorm, also played an integral part when it came to creating and publishing the digital version of the article in the ‘Millennials Strike Back’ edition of Griffith Review.
“I think the piece really fits with the Millennials edition because we (Millennials) have lived our whole lives surrounded by rapidly advancing technologies. We are digital natives. We have grown up in a time of amazing technological innovation, including 3D printers,” Taylor said.
“I think Millennials are also becoming increasingly concerned with the environmental impact we’re having on our shared planet as we’re constantly upgrading our devices and throwing away our old ones. Repurposing old electronics to make new, advanced technologies is exciting, resourceful and sustainable.
“The piece also really captures our (Millennials’) desires to have our own positive impact on the world through volunteering and contributing to something meaningful like the work that Substation 33 do.”
Taylor was among # Arts, Education and Law students to graduate across three ceremonies at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on Wednesday.
The doors of Griffith’s Policy Innovation Hub are open for students from all areas, and especially multimedia, communications and marketing, to submit an expression of interest to work on collaborative projects like the Substation 33 initiative.