Declan Howard, originally from Newcastle, is a passionate university student who is currently interning at a charity called Big Group Hug based in Thomastown. He spoke with Tom Ingleton about his remarkable journey.
What’s your connection to Whittlesea?
My connection to Whittlesea is that I have lived in Bundoora for the past three years since moving to Melbourne to complete my Bachelors of Media & Communications degree at La Trobe University. I have also spent the past two months interning at the Big Group Hug warehouse in Thomastown.
What do you like about where you live?
The great thing about where I live is how much there is to see. I’m someone who loves nature and spending as much time outdoors as I can. Especially in the northern suburbs of Melbourne there are so many different parks and nature grounds that are so beautiful to walk through and explore. Coming from a smaller town it can sometimes be overwhelming the amount of choice you have in Melbourne and feeling like you need to see it all. I just really enjoy discovering new places like cafes and restaurants and outdoor areas. These are the types of places that make you want to stay and keep you coming back.
What, if anything, would you change about where you live?
If I could change anything about where I live it would probably be the public transport. I spent my first two years here living in Melbourne without a car and took public transport everywhere I went. Now that I have a car, I can honestly say that I never want to go back. It would be great if the tram system extended in the northern suburbs of Melbourne it would make getting around a lot easier. The buses are also too infrequent and I often found myself waiting for a while when waiting for a bus. Another that is probably unrealistic is having an outdoor area to swim in. Living so far away from the beach is not ideal during summer as it is a bit of a trek and takes a while to get there. As someone who grew up in the water, I would love an outdoor place to swim but I’m not sure how possible that is.
Where is your favourite local place to spend time?
My favourite local place to spend time would probably be the Plenty Gorge Parklands. Melbourne has so many amazing parks that you can walk through and explore and this is one of them. I’ve been there a few times and I enjoy it every time. Especially walking around Blue Lake is something that is still pretty cool. The fact that the park is so big as well is good because you can go on different trails and see different parts of the park. I also love animals and seeing all the birds that fly around is always nice to see.
Tell us something people would be surprised to know about you.
Something that people would be surprised to know about me is that I’ve been in a newspaper before. When I was kid, my dad was approached by a photographer from the Newcastle Herald while we were watching my brother’s soccer game. He asked if he could do a little profile on me for ‘Rebel of the Week’ which I think was a weekly article they put in the newspaper sponsored by Rebel Sport. So I was asked some questions about myself and got my picture taken and that’s how I ended up with a tiny profile in a newspaper.
What brought you from Newcastle to Melbourne?
Living in Newcastle, it’s so easy to never want to leave because it’s such a great place to live. The beaches are amazing, the weather is great and every day it is becoming a much more popular place to live. But I always wanted to get out and go somewhere else while I can. And I’d always loved visiting Melbourne when coming down to see my uncle who lives here. Whittlesea has become like my second home. Living here has had its ups and downs but I feel like I know it so well by now. It’s so great being able to have such a big place to explore and learn more about where I’m living.
What has interning at Big Group Hug taught you?
Being an intern at Big Group Hug has definitely opened my eyes into opportunities and possibilities that are out there in the media landscape. At university there is such a heavy focus on journalism and news broadcasts and things like that. At Big Group Hug, I’ve been able to expand my ideas and learned how to create content for different platforms. Social media is now such a dominating aspect in the media world and Big Group Hug has given me an opportunity to learn how to create content for social media especially and how to cater for different audiences. I have really enjoyed being able to share my ideas and come up with creative ways to showcase them. It’s given me confidence knowing that media is such a large landscape and the possibilities are endless and Big Group Hug has definitely shown me that.
