My name is Siena Westcott-Toi, and I'm a journalist working for The Londoners whilst also getting an NCTJ diploma at News Associates, finishing in early July.

I am curious, adaptable, and globally minded, bringing a multicultural perspective and a strong sense of purpose to everything I do. With roots in Spain and England and having grown up in Portugal, I’m fluent in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, which naturally allows me to communicate confidently with people and communities I not only work with but seek to understand in diverse ways. This is a skill which I've always found to be unique and valuable and has only aided in my understanding of my work, my interests and the people I meet.

I only discovered I wanted to be a journalist in a flip-of-the-switch moment about a year ago, after realising it is not only an incredibly valuable trade in what seems like a rapidly complexifying social, economic and environmental climate, but because it is a profession which articulates truth to an array of international, national and local communities.

Journalists have a superpower - and that superpower is being able to communicate.

How do I do journalism? I do journalism with authenticity, honesty, value and creativity. Not because it's what I've adapted to, but it's because it's what I've learnt. From when I learnt to talk, my morals have been shaped to those described above. Therefore, that is how my work should reflect itself - my work reflects the voices and stories in which I investigate.

But enough blah blah blahs and now an actual portfolio introduction.

I am at News Associates, the leading journalism school in the country, doing a 22-week NCTJ-accredited course to propel me into my dream career. I cannot begin to describe how much knowledge I have acquired in such a tight space of time, but I've completely thrived off the intensity and pace of learning. It's never been made to feel more natural and uplifting than now, here - the minute you walk in that door, you become a journalist.

Entering the second half of the course, I have written and produced over 10 bylines displayed here and every time I write, it feels that bit better and more comfortable.

People always ask, 'but what kind of journalism do you do?' - and I have realised I love talking and investigating lots of different things. I talk about politics, hard news, social media trends, viral sensations, football, community initiatives, just to name a few.

And I adore writing, but my forte is camera, video editing, social media and digital journalism. To many and to me, it is the future, so sweeping up my skills on it and improving as I have in the past weeks has been crucial in figuring out what kind of journalism I want to do and why.

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