‘Never take no for an answer’

Award-winning journalist, Katya Adler, regaled GDST alumnae, parents and pupils with tales from the frontline when she was a guest on a webinar at South Hampstead High School. She also had some sound advice for the girls in the audience, too

Award-winning journalist Katya Adler spoke to hundreds of GDST alumnae, and parents and pupils about her career in broadcast news during a webinar hosted by South Hampstead High School. The BBC Europe Editor was the guest speaker at the virtual event, the latest talk in SHHS’ Speaker Series, a regular fixture with high profile guests, bringing together the school and wider community.

In addition to tales of reporting from the Middle East, working as the BBC’s Madrid correspondent, getting stuck in Gaza, and covering stories from stolen babies in Spain, to drugs gangs in Mexico and the rise of the far right in Europe, she shared a message for students:

“It’s good to have goals, and it’s good to know what you want, but it’s also good to have patience and realise you can’t get straight there; and it’s important to enjoy the journey. There are three big ingredients that I’ve tried to keep going, in whatever I do: passion, determination and not taking ‘no’ for an answer.”

She also fielded a diverse range of questions from the audience, from the probability of a Brexit deal, what makes a good war correspondent, how to maintain neutrality as a reporter, how a post-Merkel Europe might look and reflections on Europe’s responses to Covid-19.