Kayla Hodge can attest to that as she embarks on her dream career as a sports reporter with the Otago Daily Times.
Hodge, who turns 28 on Monday, started yesterday as a belated replacement for Jeff Cheshire, who has headed to Europe for some overseas life experience.
She is a familiar face in the Allied Press stable as she spent the past two years in the company’s Oamaru office, working for both the ODT and the Oamaru Mail.
Before that, she was a sports and general reporter at the Allied Press-owned Ensign in Gore for two years.
Hodge has relished the opportunity to cut her journalistic teeth in regional areas.
"I’ve loved working through community newspaper titles and being able to hear some incredible stories about people’s backgrounds. It’s a privilege being able to tell someone’s story."
A highlight was spending nearly two hours with rowing great Win Stephens, one of the famed "Oamaru Four" who won Commonwealth Games gold in 1962.
"It was amazing. I wrote a feature for the Oamaru Mail and he visited me at the office with a hug, thanking me for sharing his story the way I did.
"It has always stuck with me about how much a story and journalism can impact anybody’s life."
Hodge was named Community Newspaper Association junior sports reporter of the year in both 2018 and 2021, and was part of the Oamaru Mail team that won both CNA and Voyager Awards community newspaper of the year in 2020.
The Dunedin-born Hodge was educated at Bayfield High School before gaining a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in gender studies with a minor in media, film and communication) from the University of Otago and a National Diploma in Journalism Multimedia from Otago Polytechnic. She is also a certified dance teacher.
She has been a keen netball player for much of her life and dabbled in basketball and volleyball when she was younger.
Hodge is grateful for the experience gained in her community journalism roles but is eager to get started as a daily sports reporter with a special focus on enhancing the ODT’s industry-leading coverage of women’s sport.
"I’ve always loved sport from a young girl until now, and being a sports reporter for the ODT has been my dream since I got into this industry.
"I’m very passionate about sport in general and people having their voices heard, especially women’s sport.
"Women’s sport is on the rise and I love seeing more people embracing it, and the opportunity to write about it and be involved in that area is important to me."
Hodge can be contacted via email (kayla.hodge@odt.co.nz) or cellphone (021 560 947).
