Rosie Peters-McDonald
Current Employer/Organisation Name
The Guardian
What have you been doing since leaving Exeter, and what are you doing now?
After leaving Exeter in 2025 I was lucky enough to be offered a place on The Guardian’s Scott Trust Bursary, which trains up journalists from backgrounds less represented in the media industry (in my case, a lower socioeconomic background). The bursary gave me the opportunity to get my MA in Journalism from the University of Sheffield, where I was also given the chance to do the NCTJ, a qualification often seen as vital in the journalism industry. Doing a masters isn’t something I’d have been able to do without the bursary. Throughout my MA I’ve also been on rotation at desks across The Guardian, as well as freelancing for other publications (e.g. Dazed, the Yorkshire Post and Mill Media). As of May 2026, I’m finishing up my Masters and, all going well, I’ll be starting the second year of my trainee scheme at The Guardian in September.
Why did you choose this career? And what do you enjoy most about your work?
I have always loved reading and writing, and, having grown up in social housing and in a working class family, I feel passionately about accurate, representative news which is actually digestable and engaging for a variety of readers! Going into journalism has been my dream since I was in secondary school, and my time in student media at Exeter (Exeposé) gave me the experience I needed to know this was the right career for me.
Please tell us if you were a member of any societies, groups or sports clubs?
I was Satire Editor and then Deputy Editor of Exeposé.
What did you enjoy most about your programme and what was the biggest highlight?
I learnt to love the texts which had always scared me (e.g. modernist texts) and was lucky enough to be supervised by one of my favourite tutors for my dissertation on Joyce, which was so rewarding and honestly a highlight of the course for me.
What did you most enjoy about studying here?
The proximity to the outdoors – I could escape at any time. Teignmouth and Totnes were my favourite places to run away to after a long week or a stressful deadline. I also loved the people I met in Exeter so much.
Why did you choose to study at Exeter?
I actually chose Exeter because it was part of a programme called Realising Opportunities, which supported me with a scholarship payment in first year and helped me access higher education as someone who came from a family/background quite unfamiliar with it! But I’d also say the proximity to beaches was also a big pull factor for me.
What skills and experiences have been most useful for your career?
I think just throwing myself into whatever or trying to make the most of a module which I didn’t particularly like. Sometimes as a trainee journalist you get asked to do something you don’t particularly want to do (like a particularly dry write-up of a press release). Learning to find a silver lining is a really important skill – you can often turn something less exciting into something at least a tiny bit fun! When I was at Exeter I remember having to do a module on 1700s literature and I probably couldn’t have been less interested, but I got into the political side of the module and ended up really enjoying the assessment.
What advice would you give to a current student who wishes to pursue your career?
Get into student media! It can be really stressful at times but you inherit a (hopefully) lovely group of people who have similar interests to you, and you learn a LOT about the importance of being dedicated and having genuine interest in your job.
What are your plans for the future?
After my MA officially ends and the first year of my trainee scheme is done, I look forward to getting stuck in at The Guardian, where I’ll hopefully learn lots more. In the more distant future I’d love to work specifically in news journalism and ultimately help make reporting on complex topics more accessible for people from all backgrounds.
