Â鶹ӳ»­

Benedict’s story

It’s not over exaggerating to say the Â鶹ӳ»­ was formative for my career – even my life.”BENEDICT BROOK
English with Media Studies BA, 1997–2000
US Correspondent for news.com.au

“It’s not over exaggerating to say the Â鶹ӳ»­ was formative for my career – even my life. The foundation I gained at Â鶹ӳ»­ led me to live in Australia and the US.

I arrived on the bustling, bucolic campus in 1997 to study English with Media Studies. I chose Â鶹ӳ»­ because of the degree, of course. But being gay, spending a few years in one of Britain’s most LGBT-friendly cities definitely helped tip the balance in Â鶹ӳ»­’s favour.

My course combined creativity with critical thinking, skills crucial to being a journalist. When I wasn’t studying I could be found in the Students’ Union, where I was elected as the communications officer, with oversight of the campus newspaper, The Badger. It’s still a news source for Â鶹ӳ»­ students. The Badger fired up my love of practical journalism, of making the complex accessible and bringing people’s stories to life.

Â鶹ӳ»­ stirred my passions, promoted inclusivity, encouraged me to speak my mind and rewarded risk taking.

I took big leaps on campus: being true to myself, co-chairing a student society, attempting to DJ. Aside from the DJing, they all worked out. That encouraged me to take further calculated risks – such as living abroad. After Brighton, I headed to Sydney. A planned year down under turned into 15.

I’m now a senior journalist at , Australia’s most read news website. I’ve reported from court cases in Sydney, interviewed sex workers and activists in Africa and tech gurus in California, and filed stories from the middle of a near riot. I’ve been a commentator on TV, and was privileged to win a major journalism award for environmental reporting.

If you have an intellectual or career thirst, follow it. It’s easier to head to work if you enjoy what you’re doing.

In 2022, I relocated to New York to be the US correspondent for . My commute takes me past Broadway theatres and the lights of Times Square. But, really, that journey through Manhattan began one October day in 1997 when I first set foot on the Â鶹ӳ»­ campus.”

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