Communication students named national winners
Four communication students from the University of Newcastle were among 30 winners of the national ABC Heywire competition for 2012.
Shanna Beeton, Stephanie Beckedahl, Richard Baines and Isabel Enks are currently undergoing a Bachelor of Communication and entered the competition as part of an assignment for their radio course set by Paul Scott.
The competition asks 16 to 22 year olds from regional areas across Australia to share their stories and experiences of growing up outside of cities. From 700 entries these four students were recognised for their inspirational stories and experiences.
Their submissions ranged from urbanisation to personal loss and represented regions including Taree and the Central Coast.
All students said they were shocked to be named winners but enjoyed the assignment despite it being challenging.
Shanna Beeton’s submission focused on how her dad’s serious neck injury has affected both their lives.
“This was one of the first assessments I enjoyed doing and I spent a lot more time on this than I would have writing an essay. I was unsure if this was the story I wanted to tell but Paul helped out a lot. As journalism students we’re so used to asking everyone else the difficult questions so to be asked about our own life was challenging,” she said.
Richard Baines also worked hard to find a balance between communicating his experience of losing his dad and how external influences can change the meaning of a place.
“It was a great assignment because we had to put our name to something outside of university so it really did have to be our best work as it was in the public light. I spoke about my own experiences with losing my dad but wanted to steer away from the sympathy side of it and threw in a few light-hearted examples about people feeling differently about places due to things that had happened there,” he explained.
All of the competition winners will be heading to Canberra next month to contribute to a national youth summit and meet with politicians to discuss ideas relevant to youth outside capital areas.
 |
“I’m from Taree and my submission was about my dad who broke his neck when he was 23.” |
 |
My entry is focused on where my grandmother grew up and how we were able to bond in her final years through music.” |
 |
“I wanted to point out an observation I made about people feeling differently about places due to things that had happened there.” |
 |
“My story is about Kariong where I grew up and how it used to be a small town but is now turning into a big city.” |