Hannah

We shine our spotlight this month on Hannah, Class of 2014. Here is her story…

Can you tell us about your journey since graduating from NIS?
Hannah: I lived in Japan from the age of eight to 19-years-old and graduated from NIS in 2014. Since then, I have somewhat tried and failed to become a lawyer, and now work as a cross-platform journalist at Australia’s multicultural public broadcaster, the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS News) in Sydney. I wish I could say the journey has been all sunshine and rainbows, but that’s not exactly the case. In an experience I think some alumni might relate to, I experienced a lot of reverse culture shock when I left Japan and moved back to Australia. These days, visiting Japan is considered a ‘cool’ holiday destination, but at the time, I found when I mentioned my upbringing in my early university days, I would see peoples’ eyes glaze over and saw that my experiences would alienate a lot of people. So, I stopped sharing them and molded myself into a more palatable version of someone who wasn’t me, which made me even more miserable. I also experienced a lot of casual racism and underestimated how hard it would be to be away from my family. It got to a point where I became extremely depressed and locked myself in my university dorm room a lot. Luckily, I had friends, family (and eventually a therapist) who caught on and helped bring me out of that rut.

I experienced a turning point where I was studying law and decided I wanted to be a journalist. I think that thought had been lingering in the back of my mind subconsciously for a long time but finding the courage to truly pursue what I wanted to do was daunting. I remember hearing from a professor in my first year of studying media that half of the people in the lecture hall would not get jobs in the industry. After hiding in my room for so long, something in me clicked and I worked extremely hard to get any internship or volunteer role that I could. I found a purpose again. I started volunteering at the university’s community radio station 2ser and read the news, produced segments and interviewed people for current affairs programs. That was an amazing training ground for me. After feeling like I couldn’t do anything right for so long, I met a mentor there who told me I could succeed. That made a huge difference and was the push I needed. I was just listening back to my early news reading recordings from back then and I cringe at how terrible it sounds. So there has been a lot of trial and error and practice. From then on, I got my dream internship at ABC News in Australia, was hired afterwards as the teleprompter operator and assistant (a very bottom-of-the-ladder position) and have kept hustling my way from there. Up until recently, I was working in the audio and podcast news space, having produced, written and presented my own series this year on identity and multiculturalism called, Who We Are for SBS News. My work on a separate podcast on far-right extremism also won an award last year. And I recently was promoted to become a cross platform journalist, so now I will be working across TV, digital, audio and social media platforms.

What motivated you to pursue your current career or field of interest?
Hannah: What motivated me to pursue my current career or field of interest was my love of storytelling. I have always loved writing, watching movies and trying to predict where the storyline might go next. From a young age, all I wanted to be was an author. But I didn’t know how you could just become an author. So being a journalist sort of felt like a more tangible career. Living in Nagoya, the only English news channels we had access to in our house were NHK, CNN and the BBC. Therefore, Anderson Cooper, Yalda Hakim and Don Lemon were big influences and akin to big name celebrities in our household. So, I might have not known it at the time, but I think consuming a lot of news, seeing how they played with and presented words, and thought fast on their feet in holding powerful names to account very much influenced my decision. But, for a long time I felt a lot of familial pressure as the oldest child in my family to pursue a law or medical degree and was deeply unhappy. For a girl whose favourite classes at NIS were always English, Drama and IB Theory of Knowledge, I should have known I should pursue something to do with writing and storytelling.

Have you faced any challenges in your career, and how did you overcome them?
Hannah: Many. When I was first trying to be a journalist in Australia, there weren’t that many diverse faces on screen or role models I could look up to. While things are constantly improving, there is still a long way to go. In previous places I’ve worked, I've had people yell at me in the news control room telling me to put my food away because it stank when I had absolutely no food on me or around me whatsoever. I’ve had people call me by a different name and mistake me for only other Asian woman working in the newsroom. But I’ve also had a lot of people take chances on me and believe in me. I think being able to debrief with my family and partner, finding allies in friends and trusted colleagues and acknowledging that there are people on your side is really important. These experiences have taught me resilience, but also that there are good people out there who are rooting for you.

How did your time at NIS contribute to your personal and professional development?
Hannah: I didn’t realise how progressive my education was at NIS until I left. I was very fortunate to have some amazing teachers there and be at a school where multiculturalism was celebrated and revered. I have not always found that to be the case outside of what my teachers sometimes called the ‘bubble’ of NIS. I did now know what they meant until later. I think being at NIS, where I was surrounded by many peers with mixed identities and having that be the norm greatly influenced me as the person I am today.

What accomplishments are you most proud of in your career or personal life?
Hannah: I am most proud of my recent podcast series exploring multicultural identities in Australia and a recent story I wrote and presented on gendered violence and the spreading on non-consensual deepfake AI pornography. I am also extremely proud of a story I did on Michelle Yeoh’s Oscar win and its influence on Asian-Australian filmmakers which received over 89,000 views. But, I think more than these things itself is the feedback I receive when a story resonates with someone. Being at NIS, multiculturalism was the norm, but sometimes in news it is often associated with disadvantage. These are all things that are important to acknowledge but that makes it even more rewarding when someone messages me and tells me that a story I worked on made a difference or resonated with them.

In my personal life, I am proud of the close relationship I have with my family. I am proud of the little things like getting better at cooking, ordering way less UberEats and moving out with my partner. And learning to find work life balance.

How do you balance your professional life with personal interests and passions?
Hannah: For a long time, and especially during COVID, I put all my energy into work and that really fueled me. It also distracted me from confronting any other hardships I was experiencing in the periphery. My work had become my life at one point, and I liked that, for a time. After being quite a high achiever at NIS and then struggling with depression and just drifting and feeling like the complete opposite of a high achiever for much of my university life, finding journalism and something I was good at to focus my energy into felt fun again. Now, while it can be hard to switch off from the news cycle, I have a great support system and make more of an effort to switch off. I think living in Japan also taught me a lot about how to apply a good work ethic, but I have also had to acknowledge that work isn’t everything either. And now I have a lot better work life balance. Sometimes it is absolutely necessary to just lie on the couch and watch Ru Paul’s Drag Race. I think getting out in nature really helps too. Being in Sydney I am fortunate that I can experience those things.

What are your future goals and aspirations?
Hannah: I’ve been working as an audio journalist up until now, but recently I was hired to become a cross-platform journalist, which is one of my absolute dream roles. If you had told me in 2014 after graduating from NIS that I would have achieved this goal, I would have been shocked! The journey has been far from smooth sailing, but I wouldn’t trade the experiences I’ve had as they’ve shaped me as a person.

But I still have more I want to achieve. I hope I continue to grow as a journalist. Having worked in audio up until now, I want to keep being creative with my storytelling through visual mediums, keep championing for diversity and reporting on multicultural Australia, learn video journalist skills and how to use a camera independently, perhaps work overseas as a foreign correspondent or come back and live in Japan again for a while. I also hope to write a book of fiction or a screenplay. I would also eventually like to have my own dog and start a family.

Have you stayed connected to the NIS community after graduation?
Hannah: I recently attended my former classmate Nina’s wedding and reunited with other NIS students which was lovely. Sometimes the fact that we live in different countries can make it difficult to keep in touch and I think having been at NIS for so long I initially wanted to find my identity outside of that. But I have met up with former classmates Parnavi, Taisei and recently Denny in Sydney and have really enjoyed seeing them thrive and become the amazing people they are today.

Can you share a memorable or favorite experience from your time at NIS?
Hannah: It is hard to pinpoint a specific moment. From making dinosaur dioramas in third grade with Ms Jackie Shucker, to smuggling in conbini snacks under the covers to a field trip at Zen Buddhist temple Eiheiji, to sleeping on thin futons on hard classroom floors during away games at other international schools, there are so many different experiences. I think seeing the cherry blossoms petals spiral down towards the asphalt playground floor was also beautiful. It’s pretty incredible looking back to think that some of our school field trips which included going skiing in Nagano, visiting Hiroshima, Shirakawago and seeing Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto. Like, who does that?

What advice do you have for current students or recent graduates of NIS?
Hannah: Pursue what you want to pursue and embrace what makes you different. What makes you different is your superpower. For a little while I was trying to fit in with people I did not even particularly like or enjoy being around. Now, I feel like, as cheesy as it sounds, being yourself will cause the right people to gravitate towards you. And another reminder that I think many people are aware of but it’s good to revisit, is that with the advent of social media, people are often posting the highlight reels of their lives. We don’t see the blood, sweat and tears that took place in the background. Also, it’s okay if you don’t know exactly what you want to do after high school or get stuck in a rut along the way. Just don’t stay there forever. Keep seeking out what you’re passionate about and know that it’s okay if that shifts and keeps shifting.