Peer-Interview Class Exercise – Jenna & Kayla

Participant Profiles

Jenna

• Academic Path
  • Pursuing two Bachelor’s degrees: $1$) Bachelor of Laws, $2$) Bachelor of Arts (Journalism major).
  • Described her program as a “straight communications degree” at first, but clarified the dual-degree structure.
• Career Aspirations
  • Wants to work in the human-rights sphere, open to:
  • Legal advocacy/litigation.
  • Investigative or feature journalism.
  • Long-term inspiration: Amal Clooney (international human-rights barrister).
  • Spelling confusion noted in the dialog → final, correct spelling: “Amal Clooney.”
  • Values Clooney’s impact at the Hague and broader legal activism; aims to achieve “half as good” a contribution.
• Personal & Health Notes
  • Underwent neurosurgery $10$ days prior to the interview; still has surgical packing.
  • Asked interviewers for patience if her performance seemed “iffy.”
• Hobbies & Pastimes
  • Aerial acrobatics (paused because of surgery).
  • Reading (fantasy series in particular).
  • Circus background:
  • “Ran away” to a traveling circus at age $10$, toured around Australia.
• Miscellaneous
  • Comfortable spelling her own and peers’ names.
  • No direct linkage between acrobatics and her surgery reported.

Kayla

• Academic Path
  • Double Bachelor’s: Business and Communications at the University of the Sunshine Coast.
  • Business major: Marketing.
  • Communications major: Social Media.
• Career Aspirations
  • Wants to handle social-media or broader marketing for a professional sporting team—sport type open.
  • “Ideal world” project: travel to Russia and produce an investigative feature on the Olympic figure-skating doping scandal.
• Personal Background
  • Lives with grandparents; oldest of $4$ siblings.
  • Close social circle: two best friends still in Brisbane.
• Hobbies & Interests
  • Reading (current book: “Fourth Wing,” waiting for the rest of the five-book series to release before reading volumes $2$ & $3$).
  • Admits to a “bad habit” of skipping to the final chapter to avoid cliff-hangers.
  • Crocheting / “container full of Magoo (crochet plushies?)” → plans to build stock and sell at markets.
  • Braiding hair.
  • Highland dancing—returned to it about $3$–$4$ years ago as a cultural expression of Scottish heritage.
  • RSPCA volunteer.
  • Enjoys sports but can no longer play, hence interest in a media role.
• Additional Academic Note (from class feedback)
  • Commerce stream highlighted; future option of becoming an accountant mentioned.

Shared Dialog Highlights & Examples

• Name-spelling confirmation exercise: each participant practiced spelling their names aloud ("Kayla – K-A-Y-L-A" / “Kayna – K-A-Y-N-A” confusion).
• Light-hearted aside comparing heroes: Jenna → Amal Clooney; interviewer jokes: “My idol is George Clooney.”
• Book discussion as rapport-building: mutual frustration with unfinished series, spoilers, and cliff-hangers.
• Entrepreneurial encouragement: peer suggests Kayla could “make a killing” selling crochet at weekend markets.
• “Meet-cute” comedy: classmates tease about romance tropes in fantasy novels (“He threw you in a cauldron … It’s what we call a meet cute.”).

Classroom Context & Meta-Comments

• Session appears to be a journalism/communications tutorial focused on interview skills and “news values.”
  • Instructor asked each group to present a story and identify its dominant news value after the one-on-one interview exercise.
  • Casual check-in on current affairs: “What happened to Donald Trump last week?” (No answer captured).
• Interview Methodology Pointers Demonstrated
  • Start with a “hard-hitting lead” vs easier rapport-building questions.
  • Confirm spelling of names for accuracy.
  • Seek “something interesting” to add color to a profile (health event, unique past experience).
  • Summarize key facts back to the class for verification.

Ethical, Professional & Real-World Connections

• Human-rights law & journalism: Amal Clooney’s precedent underscores intersections between legal advocacy and media exposure in global justice.
• Sports-media ethics: Russian figure-skating doping scandal illustrates investigative journalism’s watchdog role and the importance of transparency in international sport.
• Volunteering (RSPCA) and community engagement: demonstrates social responsibility concurrent with academic workload.
• Entrepreneurship (crochet market stall) as practical application of marketing studies (pricing, audience targeting, branding).

Numerical Snapshot & Quick Facts

• Jenna’s surgeries: $1$ neurosurgery, $10$ days prior to interview.
• Age she joined circus: $10$.
• Kayla’s siblings: $4$ total (she’s the eldest).
• Books in series discussed: $5$ planned; currently $3$ published.
• Time since Kayla resumed Highland dance: $3$–$4$ years.

Potential Follow-Up Questions for Deeper Reporting

1. Jenna: Specific human-rights issues or regions she hopes to cover?
2. Kayla: Which sporting organizations already exemplify strong social-media storytelling?
3. Health angle: How does recent neurosurgery impact Jenna’s future in aerial acrobatics? Any relevance to disability reporting or advocacy?
4. Business tie-in: What pricing strategy and target demographic does Kayla envision for her crochet goods?
5. News Values exercise: Which story did the group ultimately choose and why (e.g., proximity, prominence, conflict)?