Hello Quesnel, I’m Austin and I’ll be your new local journalist.
I was born and raised in Surrey so packing up everything I own and heading to Quesnel to be a journalist is going to be a bit of an adventure for me. I got my bachelor’s degree in journalism from Kwantlen Polytechnic University (KPU) earlier this year where I had the opportunity to learn from some amazing journalists.
In university I got to tell stories about people who dedicate themselves to coaching, events and everyone’s favourite topic: property tax increases! And so much more.
While I was at KPU I stumbled into photography which led to me working at KPU’s student paper, The Runner, as the photo editor. I like to go for walks in parks and on trails to take photos of ducks, squirrels, flowers and really whatever else looks neat.
I call myself a politics nerd. One of the earliest journalism-adjacent things I did as a student was live-tweet Surrey city council meetings. From the controversy around the city creating a new police force, to simple rezoning applications, I find politics fascinating.
I’ve played video games since I could hold a controller and whether it’s the wastelands of Fallout or Pelican Town in Stardew Valley, I love exploring virtual worlds. I also really enjoy sitcoms from Kim’s Convenience to Parks and Rec but Schitt’s Creek is my all-time favourite.
One of my other little quirky interests is that I love learning about cryptids and folklore like mothman, bigfoot and UFOs.
I’m excited to learn about Quesnel from the basics of how to get around the city, to the events I’ll be covering to all the folks I’ll get the chance to chat to.
If you have a story idea, please reach out to me at austin.kelly@quesnelobserver.com.