As part of the Sky Young Journalists Awards 2008 five young journalists from Sky News describe different aspects of their career so far.

At the age of 15 I did my first stint of work experience in the newsroom of my local radio station. The fast paced environment appealed to me and I knew I wanted to be a journalist from that point.

It feels like it's been a long road from that moment to my job at Sky News - that road involved work experience, work experience and more work experience. I spent all my holidays and spare time working at my local radio station, hospital radio and various BBC radio and tv news stations. After completing a degree in English at Nottingham University I spotted an advertisement for a 12-month Graduate Trainee Scheme at Sky News. It sounded perfect and I applied straight away but didn't get an interview.

It was at this point that I realised I didn't have enough experience. I'd set my heart on that job though so I went back to university and did an MA in Broadcast Journalism. It was a tough year - I filled all my spare time with paid and unpaid work experience and was exhausted at the end of it. But when Sky News advertised for the Graduate Trainee Scheme again the next year, I applied and got the job!

Getting my job at Sky was one of the most surreal moments of my life - it look a long time to sink in and I was determined to make a success of it. The trainee scheme year was a whirlwind of learning. We did attachments all over Sky News - in newsgathering, production, online, planning and the political bureau in Westminster. The year was hard work but it was an amazing opportunity being exposed to so many different disciplines within the organisation. At the end of it I was offered a job as a producer on the overnight World News Programme.

After a year of overnights I am now a producer on the flagship programme Live at 5 which involves writing scripts, organising filming, editing packages and coming up with story ideas. I've learnt so much since I've been at Sky and it's exciting thinking about where all this experience will lead in the future.