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Katelin McInerney

Bachelor of Arts/Honours - 2004
Dean’s Scholar - 2002-2004

When Katelin McInerney graduated from UOW in 2004 with a BA/Honours from the Faculty of Arts Dean’s Scholars Program she hardly expected to be back within a few years interviewing academics and students.

In fact, journalism was far from her mind, despite a strong family involvement in the fourth estate – her father and aunt both being senior journalists.

“I wasn’t really thinking about journalism, to be honest,” she says. “I loved my time at uni so much that I was inclined towards trying to stay there forever, doing more study and pursuing a career in academia.”

She spent 2005 tutoring in English at UOW’s Moss Vale and Shoalhaven campuses, but deciding to broaden her career choices by doing as much work experience as possible in 2006.

“I spent 2006 doing stints in an MP’s office, at a book publishing company and an on-line-publisher, and an internship at Cumberland Newspapers in Sydney,” she says.

Katelin caught the journalism bug, and applied to the Illawarra Mercury in Wollongong for an internship. She was given a month in January, which led to an appointment to cover a maternity leave. That in turn led to a full-time appointment.

Throughout 2006 Katelin wrote for the Mercury’s weekly IQ education liftout, and in October received a national award for her writing on education – the Australian Council of Deans of Education Award for Excellence in Journalism.

Katelin won the feature writing category in the Council of Deans of Education award for a piece called Tackling a Teenage Tragedy, about the impact of youth suicide on a school community.

She is now the Mercury’s main education writer and often visits UOW to interview staff and students as part of her beat.

“I love going back to UOW,” she says. “It’s one of my favourite places, and it’s awesome being paid to talk to the amazing people there about the wonderful things they are doing.

“And it gives the chance to buy a muffin from the Nectar juice bar. I really missed those muffins when I left uni!”