Teen Journalist Alert: Here Are Our Student Contributors for 2018!

Meet the four students whose articles you’ll be reading over the next semester.

Twice a year, we invite students from across Australia to put their hand up and contribute to Student Edge for a semester as part of our Contributors Program.

In 2017, our student contributors wrote about the dangers of energy drinks, sexism in the classroom, cheap student meals, youth homelessness, sex ed and mental health, the open-mindedness of millennials, and much, much more. Read all their contributions here!

This semester, we welcome a new batch of writers. Meet the students who’ll be giving you their opinion on everything from pop culture to politics—and beyond—for the first few months of 2018.

Graham Mitchell Elphick (20, WA)

Hey everyone! I’m Graham and I’m so excited to be writing for Student Edge! I’m a big fan of movies and anything about movies. I love the idea of storytelling; it’s easily mankind’s best invention. I really enjoy writing and always have. It’s just fun! I also like to literally speak my mind, so I created a YouTube channel called Movies With Gra to get my opinion out there. I can’t wait to share my thoughts with all you Student Edge members and I hope you enjoy my work.

Hannan Dempsey (17, WA)

Born with a name way too similar to another that is very popular, I have spent much of my life correcting people. My name is Hannan (not Hannah, not Shannan; a fusion of the two) and I have lived in the southern suburbs of Perth for all my not-quite-eighteen years. I am a first-year university student studying physics and geographical sciences with a vague idea of what career I want to undertake. All I know is I want to find out as much as possible about the universe. I have a wide variety of distinct interests that range from music (I play five instruments; my younger self was quite ambitious in this area) to science. In saying that, I have spent the majority of my time since graduating high school watching sitcoms and scrolling through the internet with my puppy, Harold, as company. I am really looking forward to writing for Student Edge and sharing my passions for writing and observing the world around me, and I will endeavour to make my articles as interesting as possible.

Jess Lambert (16, SA)

Hi! My name is Jess. I am a 16-year-old high school student with a passion for learning, music and travelling. Writing has always been a big part of my life, and I hope to be able to inspire people and share my ideas through words. I am a firm believer that you can do anything you set your mind to, and that pineapple does, in fact, go on pizza. Aside from travelling as much as possible, a long-term goal of mine is to become a high school English teacher. I am looking forward to these next few months, and I hope you all enjoy the articles I will be writing.

Candice Wilson (18, SA)

So, my name’s Candice, or you can use the many variations including Candycane, Candy, Mandace or Canned-Rice. I live far, far away in the land of the countryside, where the Australian wildlife like to hangout and wake you at the crack of dawn. But now that I’ve finished high school, I am embarking on a year of retreat from the strain of study and cramming knowledge into the thing we call a brain. (In other words, I’m having a ‘gap’ year.) During a few months of this time, I’ll be writing for Student Edge in the hopes of relating to the issues and opinions of you, the students; because let’s face it, ‘the struggle is real’.  

Thanks again to everyone who sent in an application. Remember, if you weren’t successful this time, you can have another crack in Semester 2. Until then, enter our writing competitions!

Photo: Fox