I still remember the first time entering The Glasgow Guardian's newsroom. A mix of excitement and nerves surged through me, filling me from head to toe. I recall planning for this moment weeks ahead - thinking about the stories I would pitch and the impressions I would make. Frankly speaking, I was not entirely sure what to expect, but I was eager to find out.

When that day finally arrived, my mood was through the roof. As I stepped into the room - laptops clicking, writers debating headlines, the deadlines looming - a sense of true journalism was filling the air. 

Right now I am studying MSc Human Rights & International Politics at the University of Glasgow but my background is far from political sciences. I finished my undergraduate degree in journalism and if there is one thing I am confident in it is that I want to tie my future career with it. Coming from Ukraine and witnessing the war defined a lot of my decisions. It was the resilience of my people and the urge to tell the world about it that drove me on this path.

I knew that coming to the University of Glasgow presented me with a challenge. I expected the programme to be heavily rooted in theory, which wasn't something I was accustomed to. I knew this shift from a hands-on, practical degree to a more theoretical one wouldn't be easy. And I wasn't wrong.

My previous degree was 80% applicable. We would spend hours working on interviews, articles and radio pieces, and now I was spending hours reading and reading chapters on all the ways that the human rights system has failed us. At times like these, I often feel we are stuck in a loop where we are studying injustives without any power to act and change them. But for me, journalism is one way to deal with this frustration. When your sense of justice is razor-sharp, sitting idely while the world peers off course simply isn't an option. I was learning all these horrible things and I simply couldn't keep doing nothing about it. 

During my first week at the University of Glasgow, I was overwhelmed by the amount of studies societies I was suggested. At some point, I wanted to try them all, but to be fair, I was only really interested in The Glasgow Guardian. At my first contributor's meeting I started to talk t o editors and fellow contributors there. I immediately realised that this is where I can fulfil my passion for not staying silent in the face of the world's injustice. There, I found people who were as passionate, as driven and as eager to chase the next big story as I was. Joining the student newspaper wasn't just about gaining writing experience. It was about becoming part of a community that cares about making a difference when telling the truth. Every article I write, every interview I conduct, and every debate I participate in strengthens that belief.

At the time of finishing this blog, my most recent article is an opinion piece offering a Ukranian perspective on the US-Russia peace deal talks regarding the war in Ukraine. It was my first time writing an opinion article and covering such a personal topic was deeply important. I never realised that sharing my own views and interlacing them with facts could be so powerful. I wanted to explain to the reader what it feels like to watch the news about your country and see no fairness, and with that I hoped to make them comprehend the pain and distrust many Ukranians feel when hearing the negotiations. Writing this article gave me a sense of purpose, and I have learned that sometimes change begins with the stories we choose to tell.

That initial surge of excitment I felt stepping into the newsroom hasn't faded - it has only grown stronger with every store I write. And as long as there are voices that need to be heard, I want to make the world listen.

First published: 31 March 2025

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