By Norbert Salat, 18 Oct 2021

George Joseph is an aspiring journalist currently undertaking a masters degree at the University of West Scotland. He is currently 26 years of age and is originally from Kerala, India. Having completed his undergraduate course in mass communication and journalism in 2018, George decided to pursue his masters certificate in Ayrshire. The following piece transcribed from an interview, which aims to shine a light on George’s interests and hobbies, what led him to choosing his career path and his vision of what the future might hold.

The first thing I wanted to find out was George’s favourite pastimes and his motive to pursue a career in journalism. He explained that he enjoys spending his free time travelling as much as possible. One of the best places he has been to is Mahabalipuram in his home country of India. The town was named after King Mahabali, who was killed by Lord Vishnu. It’s a town known for its 20km exotic seashore, temples, cave sanctuaries and huge open-air reliefs – such as the famous “Descent of the Ganges”.

“I would love to do documentary film production on unsung heroes, people who are really great but the world doesn’t know and recognise”

George’s love for travelling is directly linked to why he has chosen to pursue journalism. George says he hopes to produce documentaries on unsung heroes he meets on his travels. One such hero George wants to highlight in his documentaries is NS Rajappan, a 69 year old man from Kerala. For the last 6 years, Mr Rajappan has been on a mission to battle against climate issues, despite being paralysed below the knees. He moves around in the city using his hands, collecting plastic waste from the streets and also vital water sources – using a rented country boat. These types of acts of kindness is what George hopes to teach the world about through the work he aims to produce.

When asked why he chose West Scotland as his next destination, this is what George had to say:

“I know the UK universities never compromise inequality […] and it is practical oriented and accredited by the BJTC”

George hopes to one day work as a freelance producer and sell his work to be shown on a bigger platform, but understands he needs to acquire necessary experience to get there. Should he achieve his goal in the future, the possibility of creating his own production company could be real.

You can listen to the full audio version of my interview with George here: