Meet local journalist Mei Kuan and find out how she landed the role of senior reporter at Ipoh Echo:

The saying “if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life” by Marc Anthony did not quite ring true throughout my job search right after university. The thing was, I did not know what I would love to do in the first place.

Fortunately, to have an English language and linguistics degree under one’s belt (and first-class honours to boost), the career opportunities are extensive.

As a science stream student with an English major, I was not even aware of the publishing world, let alone the print media. I never thought I would end up writing for a community-based newspaper but wow, am I thankful to be here.

Thanks to news diversity, I get to meet people literally from all walks of life. Think exclusive one-on-one with Professor Muhammad Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Dato’ Asir Victor, Ipoh-born Olympian, Irene Ang, actress who portrayed “Rosie Phua” from the famed Singaporean sitcom, Halim H. Berbar, multi-award winning French photojournalist, Carol Selva Rajah, international authority on food history and culinary art, M. Kulasegaran, Human Resources Minister and Andrew Goledzinowski AM, Australia’s High Commissioner to Malaysia, just to name a few.

I use my voice to highlight the everyday people doing extraordinary things, the unsung heroes and struggling non-profit organisations especially welfare homes. Since my director-cum-editor is an ex-serviceman, I can dip my toes into writing about the military community. Plus, I can keep my scientific knowledge from school year alive by penning science-related topics from time to time. Not only that, tagging along with our established food columnist with a discerning taste equals to getting to eat at new restaurants on a regular basis from high-end to street fare and discovering the story behind the food.

As a journalist, one gets free access to much-hyped events, exclusive media previews, major conferences and enlightening talks. Did I mention I pick up the ins and outs of photography and editing along the way? Talk about multitasking!

Journalism has definitely given me a sneak peek into different career fields and an opportunity to reach out to inspirational figures – which in turn worked out the answer to my initial, big question: perhaps this was what I wanted to do with my life.

A shout out to all graduates on the job hunt who have not got their life purpose all figured out yet. Don’t lose sight of your growth, trust your process – we are people who are learning as we go. Keep your eyes on your own paper and not get caught up in the clutter of comparison especially on the internet – it’s not a race.

Tan Mei Kuan, Ipoh Echo