It’s never too late

Taking a brave step towards chasing his dreams, Ian Brooks returned to education last year as a mature journalism student. As part of his course, he undertook a work placement in GCN, and here, he recounts the experience.

I suppose to give you the full picture of how I found myself where I am currently, I must provide a bit of backstory.

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be a journalist, ensuring that readers know everything important happening in the world today, with a focus on LGBTQ+ issues, of course. But a little thing called life kept me sidetracked, and after an illness, I lost my way and found myself with no goals or pathway, struggling with my health and feeling incredibly isolated. I needed to get back on the wheel, as they say, and getting back into education and reaching for the stars made much more sense than getting another office job with no real prospects. So, this past September, I started studying Journalism at Ballyfermot College of Further Education, and slowly but surely, I started to feel like me again.

Semester two began in the new year, and we were tasked with finding a publication or radio station and approaching them for work experience. GCN was the first to respond out of the hundreds of magazines, newspapers and radio stations that I reached out to, and their reply stood out to me as Lead Multimedia Journalist Bea made me feel like not only would they welcome me, but they would take time to teach and lead me.

Meeting new people can always be daunting, but I was uncharacteristically relaxed as the first day approached. Everything just seemed so right, and I was even further reassured when Aarya, another team member, was not only aware I was due to be there but gave me a very comforting, warm welcome. Who hasn’t shown up for an interview or on the first day when no one was expecting you and you stand around feeling like a spare part?

As the team spilled in, I was met with the usual curiosity: What’s your name? Where do you live? Where are you studying? Everyone was friendly, and my de facto manager for the next two weeks, Bea, showed me all the necessary rules and some documentation to complete.

I was almost giddy at the prospect of joining a content meeting, a set-up where the team scours the world news for any content that GCN readers would be interested in. I just sat and listened, soaking it all in as the day’s tasks were delegated and article ideas and plans were laid out.

As we entered Tuesday, a press conference in respect of Gender Based Violence was taking place at the Buswells Hotel. The conference was a call for action in advance of International Women’s Day on March 8. My first press conference would cover a heavy subject, and I got quite emotional as the survivors of intimate partner and gender-based violence shared their stories. There were several impressive and brave speakers, accounting to the audience the trauma they endured and unfortunately continue to endure, as the court systems are not designed to support the victim. We heard powerful speeches and calls for government action in preparation for March 8.

I was so moved by each one of the speakers. The entire event was a profound experience for me.

As the week progressed, I had an opportunity to sit with GCN founder, activist, historian and famous DJ Tonie Walsh. As we archived some of the queer press dating back to the ‘80s, we swapped stories of our experiences of clubs around the world and I picked his brain about his background, club history and work he has done in recording and archiving publications like the New York Native and GI magazine. Living in Turkey, he was here just for a few days, so I was very lucky that the timing of our meeting worked out in my favour.

To end the week, I attended my first film festival, the Dublin International Film Festival (DIFF). The combination of attending pitch meetings, archiving sessions, press conferences and film festivals made the entire experience feel so genuine and authentic, but the highlight was seeing my name on an article which made the website. Under the headline was my full name. Although just the byline, it felt like my name was written in lights. I felt like a journalist.

You could not ask for a better work experience opportunity. Everything seemed to fall into place. Not only did the GCN team make me feel like I belonged, but I felt encouraged and like I was part of the team.

Wrapping up my last day with the team, I jotted down the main takeaway lessons I had learned from the two weeks, big and small. I will be going back to finish the year having had this incredible experience and this reassurance that being a journalist and a writer is definitely for me, and I have Alice, Bea, Stefano and the team to thank.