Amy Westlake joins the Rochdale Online news team

As a budding young journalist, 23-year-old Amy Westlake has always had a love of writing.

Amy said: “I’ve always liked writing, it was something that I’d always liked doing and when it came to deciding what to do for university it seemed like the logical choice.”

Amy studied Creative Studies at Bangor University; modules included journalism, media and film.

In 2008, Amy became a volunteer at Youth Live Magazine. This role gave her the chance to gain experience in many different areas such as office work to interviewing members of public in the street and also attending important board meetings.

“I gained experience; it was good to learn things.”

Having gained a degree in Creative Studies, Amy continued her education as a Masters Degree student at Manchester Metropolitan University.

Amy says she really enjoys meeting new people and finds it interesting listening to the stories that people have to tell.

“I’ve met a lot of people in the Rochdale area and learned a lot about people and every day life.”

She does admit that the job isn’t easy. As a journalist you constantly have to deal with tricky situations whilst retaining your professionalism.

As part of her Masters Degree course Amy had to complete a two week work placement. This requirement saw her searching for placements at local newspapers and she was introduced to Rochdale Online through a recommendation by the Oldham Chronicle.

Having impressed during her placement, Amy was offered and accepted a summer internship leading to a full time position with the Rochdale Online news team.

Rochdale Online Managing Director Pauline Journeaux said: "Amy is diligent and hardworking and has the eye for a good story that every journalist needs. We are delighted to have her as part of the Rochdale Online team."

Not all of Amy’s time is spent working on potential articles. On a personal level, she has another passion... films. When her life wasn’t so busy she spent a lot of her spare time working on her film blog. She enjoys classic films such as ‘Back to the future’ and ‘Blues Brothers’.

Amy hopes to have a successful career in journalism. “I just want to be successful and get a career that I’m proud of, enjoy life while I can and get on with things,” said Amy.