And huge congratulations to Lauren Harris who has secured her first job in journalism as a trainee reporter on the weekly North Devon Journal. Lauren will be based in Barnstaple and she will start on 13 June. Lauren will be allocated a patch of her own to cover, and she is expecting to make full use of the multimedia and court reporting skills she has learned in the Centre.

Huge congratulations to Natalie Tipping who has just secured a job as a reporter on the Kent Messenger. She will start work in the Maidstone newsroom  on 6 June. Additional congratulations are due because Natalie also triumphed at the University Media Awards, winning prizes for best Report and best Interview. And, If that's not enough success for one month, Natalie has won the 2016 Chancellor's Employability Award and a Special Commendation for Student of the Year at the Kent Student Awards. Brilliant!

I'm delighted to report another example of early job success. MA student Ben Richter has been appointed to a  two-year traineeship with the German regional newspaper Heilbronner Stimme, German for Voice of Heilbronn. The title is based in the south-west German town of Heilbronn and reaches around a quarter of a million readers every day. During his traineeship - which is the best start to a career in German journalism - Ben will  work in all the newspaper's departments including politics, culture, and sports, He will contribute to the print edition and the website and work on social media.

Huge congratulations to Kishan Koria who began his career as a journalist today, Sunday 8 May, as a member of the production team for ITN's new politics show, Peston On Sunday. I thought the show was lively and intelligent. Kishan has done exceptionally well to start on a network show, but I know several other soon-to-be graduates in the Centre have agreed,or are about to agree, contracts for other great jobs in great newsrooms.

Centre for Journalism graduate Lucy Ross-Millar (BA Hons, 2011) has completed a six month, 5868 mile cycle challenge from Vietnam to Nepal. Lucy, who worked after graduation for the Society of Editors and then as a reporter for Cambidge News, undertook the challenge with her partner Ryan Graver in a bid to raise money for the Mines Advisory Group (MAG). MAG works to reclaim contaminated land following the Vietnam War and creates safe conditions for development in the region. Lucy  has blogged on her experiences throughout the expedition.