A graduate who was all at sea with her career choice is now on the crest of a wave after securing an apprenticeship with a newspaper.

Darlington College student Darcie Rawlings has swapped marine biology for journalism and her new-found enthusiasm has landed her a position with The Northern Echo.

For the next year, she will serve an apprenticeship with the paper while attending Darlington College one day a week to complete her NCTJ Level 5 in journalism, with a view to gaining the Level 7 senior qualification.

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She has landed the role at The Northern Echo covering community news in her home town of Consett and also major regional cultural events including music, comedy and restaurant reviews.

“I’m so excited, it’s brilliant,” said the 23-year-old. “This has been a good move for me. Sitting in the newsroom I can see the inner workings of a newspaper and digital news company, learning as I go along, while receiving a wage as well.”

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Darcie is from a low-income, single-parent household but her background didn’t stop her from going to Newcastle University where she successfully read a BSC honours degree in marine biology. Unfortunately, she found her sea legs to be lacking so she took a masters in international multi-media journalism.

She then signed up for the NCTJ journalism course at Darlington College and became the first to receive financial support worth more than £4,000 from the National Council for the Training of Journalists’s diversity fund.

After following The Northern Echo closely, when the opportunity to apply for an apprenticeship scheme arose, Darcie applied, passed her interview and was offered the position.

Darlington College journalism programme leader Sue Calvert said: “Darcie thoroughly deserves this big break. Her enthusiasm for news is boundless and she will thrive, I am sure.”

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Darcie said: “I’m covering the area I grew up in and, working closely within the community, it has suddenly hit me that the public now reads my work. I feel a huge responsibility in terms of accuracy and fairness, as well as the time pressures of working to deadlines, but the support I have access to from The Northern Echo is invaluable.

“I just wrote a piece on a knit and natter charity group in Stanley, who are doing some amazing work around the world, including sending knits to Ukraine. I had some lovely feedback from the group which said the article had attracted new members. It’s little things like this that spur me on as well as the fun aspect of covering major events.”

For more details on opportunities at Darlington College visit www.darlington.ac.uk.