Having an internship cancelled a few days before Italian journalism student Michelle Sit Aboha was due to start work could have been a disaster. Thanks to great support from her tutor, she managed to find work elsewhere – and ended up interviewing a Michelin starred chef. Read on to find out more.
Tell us a little bit about yourself...
I grew up in a small village outside Milan and moved to the city when I was 14. My mum is from Naples (south Italy), and my father is Palestinian but grew up in Jordan. I’m very proud of my cultural background because I found the Middle Eastern and the Mediterranean culture very fascinating. For example, I love to be surrounded by people from different countries, and I think that this is because I never could identify myself with only one culture. That’s why I love to live in London, and I never enjoyed living in Italy that much – as it’s not as inclusive as people may think.
What brought you to London Met?
Many reasons brought me to London Met, including its excellent reputation in diversity, which is very important to me.
What did studying at London Met mean to you?
It meant having the possibility to meet so many people from different countries and learn so much from all of them. It meant feeling supported by my teachers even though I felt insecure about my English level or my skills as a journalist in general. Despite all the difficulties faced, mainly because we started our first year during the Coronavirus pandemic, I never considered the idea of giving up, because of the support system I could count on.
Tell us about your current role if you’re working now.
I’m currently working as a Head Waitress in a restaurant in Notting Hill. My current job helped towards my degree in journalism because it gave me so many story ideas to work on! Also, I could meet so many people who didn’t hesitate to be interviewed by me. Working in hospitality improved my journalist skills – for example, it taught me how to read people and use the appropriate tone to up-sell. Also, I learned how to work under pressure because of the need to manage different tables simultaneously, which is crucial when writing several news stories in a short period of time! More than everything, I learned to work in a team and improve my communication skills.
What is your biggest passion in life and where did that passion come from?
My biggest passion is art. I inherited this passion from my grandfather, a carpenter who could draw everything. Because of this heritage, I have always been interested in writing, photography and theatre. However, because the main subjects of all my artistic work were related to people, I decided to start a journalism degree as this profession has a very strong human interest. My Palestinian background influenced this decision too, because I believe the media’s coverage of the Palestinian context isn’t often accurate or fair.
What drives you?
Today, I’m keen to understand how to bring together my passion for the hospitality field, art and human rights. However, everything related to these three fields drives me.
What’s the proudest moment in your life?
I think the proudest moment of my life will be graduation day. I say this not because of the degree itself but because during these last three years, I learned how resilient and persistent I can be, which are aspects of my personality that I wasn’t sure of before. I started the University online because of the Coronavirus pandemic, and honestly, delivering the teaching in that way was very alienating. Then, when we returned to campus during the second year, I started to work full-time after almost two years of stopping. On top of that, one of our second year’s modules required us to do an internship during the Easter vacation, and mine got cancelled a few days before. So, the only solution was to do two of them while attending the lectures and going to work.
In addition, the University applied to get an accreditation under the Broadcasting Journalism Training Council and we had to participate to more Newsweeks than usual and do a difficult law test. Anyway, as I said, I don’t regret anything because I managed to reach the end!
Tell us a little bit about your interests outside of uni and why they are important to you.
I honestly love to spend time on my own. Because I work in a busy restaurant, I speak with dozens of people everyday. On top of that, I needed to interview dozens of people for my assessments. So, I love to enjoy some time by reading a book or watching a movie.
What’s next in your career?
I applied to a master’s in Antropology of Food at SOAS University and luckily they already sent me a conditional offer. However, I also applied for a master’s in Media Studies at the American University of Beirut (AUB) and I’m still waiting for a reply. When AUB will get back to me I’ll take a decision. I’m interested in both but surely, I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to live in the Middle East for once. It’s time to reconnect with my Arab side!
Do you have any advice for anyone else considering studying at London Met?
I suggest asking questions as much as they can. As I said, one of the most positive aspects of London Met is how teachers are supportive. Also, work hard and remember that you are part of a process. You’ll understand what it means.
How are/were the other students and the teaching staff on the course? Are you still in touch?
I have a very good relationship with a group of several girls who come from different countries such as India, Bulgaria and Italy. We always supported each other when things were getting difficult and I’ll never forget that. We are still in touch with almost all the teaching staff and they helped me writing the references for my master’s as well. I’m sure there will be the opportunity to see them again.
Did you do any work experience as part of the course?
Yes, I did. The second year requires to do an internship of 15 days during the period of Easter. As I mentioned before, the internship I was supposed to do got cancelled a few days before I was supposed to start it. Luckily, my teacher Simon contacted the Staff Canteen, which is a website that aims to showcase many restaurants/chefs based in the UK. Because of my experience in the field of hospitality, I was more than happy to start to work with them! We wrote many features together and I interviewed Michelin Star Chef Nathan Outlaw! I honestly didn’t face any challenges during this experience because at university we learned how to interview from day one and to work on a website too.
Then, I managed to do an internship with the Italian newspaper Il Manifesto, thanks to a contact that I have. That experience has been definitely more difficult than the one with the Staff Canteen, because I had to report events for more than 10 hours. For example, I covered the Exctinction Rebellion’s protest last year which started at 10am an finished around 6pm. After all those hours I had to write the article and it wasn’t easy to do because of the tiredness! Also, I covered the Palestine Solidarity Campaign’s initiative in front of the Israeli Ambassy, which wasn’t easy to do because of my Palestinian background. During that afternoon, many Palestinians were speaking about their stories at the microphone and I didn’t manage to stay impartial at all. But, I guess it comes with the time. At the end of that day, I managed to publish an article on the Manifesto’s website, which is something I can’t still believe. My father told me that he was very proud of me.
Can you explain more about your final project?
My final project is called “How to find yourself through art and food: the Palestinian case in London”. As the title suggests, my goal is to bring together everything that I’m passionate about and that really matters to me: art, food and Palestine. I want to show that it’s possible to spread a culture through the tools mentioned above because so many times people rely on racism, prejudices or stereotypes. To avoid all of this, I believe that art and food are able to bring people together despite their differences.
How has Covid affected your study / work / life?
Well, at the beginning it didn’t affect me too much because I could go to Italy for the first time in a couple of years and be close to my mum. However, I don’t deny that after a few months of online teaching I was really struggling to keep myself motivated. Most of the time we weren’t even putting our webcam on, so it felt very boring and alienating.
I remember I awkward it was when we came back on campus and I could see my classmates’ faces after hearing only their voices. Even during that period, we were getting tested every three days and I’m honest if I say that I wasn’t feeling really safe. I had covid four times during the last three years, and for sure it affected my concentration and my studies. Still now I suffer from sinusitis almost every month and I think it’s because I had COVID so many times.
What surprised you about London Met?
The relationship between teachers and students surprised me. Growing up in Italy, students can’t interact with teachers in a familiar way. There is a very strict relationship with them. That’s why for me, at the beginning, was so strange the fact that I could call them by their names! Or even being able to be myself. Also, it surprises me how many times I could get feedback from them on my assessments, even if sometimes it meant to ask this a few days before the deadline. They never refused to help me and I appreciate this so much.
What’s your favourite piece of Uni equipment or your favourite space at London Met and why?
My favourite space at London Met is the courtyard. I always enjoyed taking some air before or after a lecture, by sitting next to my classmates. I think it’s the best space at uni because inside is often very chaotic, but outside is completely the opposite.
If you could sum up your experience at London Met in one word, what would it be?
Rollercoaster.
What’s your favourite place in London and why?
My favourite place in London is probably the restaurant I work in. It’s a Palestinian restaurant in Notting Hill and it’s designed as the typical cities in the Middle East. The olive trees and all the decor makes me feel like if I’m transported into another reality. That atmosphere is unique.
"My goal is to bring together everything that I’m passionate about and that really matters to me: art, food and Palestine. I want to show that it’s possible to spread a culture through the tools mentioned because so many times people rely on racism, prejudices or stereotypes. I believe that art and food are able to bring people together despite their differences."
Find out more about our Journalism (including foundation year) BA or life as an international student