Originally destined to be a musician, but became a host instead, 2024 UOW Alumni Award candidate introduction.

The annual UOW Alumni Awards are a significant accolade that recognizes UOW alumni who have made outstanding contributions in various fields. This year's Alumni Awards have also reached a crucial nomination moment. In this issue, we talk about this nominated alumnus and how UOW helped her achieve her current career dreams.

2024 UOW Alumni Award Candidate

Kumi Taguchi

Kumi Taguchi has been nominated as a final candidate for this year's UOW Arts and Culture Alumni Award. Currently a program host at SBS, her current affairs program has won the Walkley Award across the network, which explores some thorny topics by interviewing ordinary people. Despite Kumi's outstanding achievements in media, her initial talents were not related to media.

From Music to Media

As a talented violinist, Kumi came to UOW to study music on a full scholarship. But Kumi said: 'Storytelling and a desire to understand the world were my interests. In my first year of university, I also minored in Media Arts. Starting from the second year, I made Media Arts my major. At that time, it was a new branch of the degree -- film production, computer coding, multimedia creation. I loved all of these.'

More importantly, UOW provided Kumi with full support, helping her transition from an art student to a media specialist. The dedication of UOW's teachers also moved Kumi, as she said: 'Their passion for their work was no less than our passion for academic pursuits.'

Becoming a Household Name in Media

After graduating from university, Kumi found a job as a production assistant at ABC's '7:30 Report', then held a series of production and reporting positions in the Asia-Pacific region, and was promoted to producer and reporter at ABC and SBS.

Since then, she has traveled around the world for her career, running marathons in the desert, sailing from Sydney to Hobart, reporting on famous programs like Invictus and the Olympics, with her coverage of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics being a highlight of her career.

In 2021, the same year she reported on the Olympics, Kumi was appointed as the new host of 'Insight'. This role requires unique empathy and journalistic integrity, guiding people to delve into sensitive topics about life and death, family, etc.

The program was a great success, and Kumi shared her insights on success:

'Before recording the program, I carefully consider the tone I need to adopt.I find that being too gentle and delicate can seem arrogant to those with difficult stories.Some people in our studio have experienced hellish hardships, and they prefer to be treated normally rather than with caution.My job is to stay firm so they can soften and melt when needed.'

'Another crucial point is to ensure that everyone in the studio feels safe to share. I cannot decide who is right or wrong, so asking questions in the right way is particularly important.'

Feelings of Studying at UOW

Looking back on her student days,KumibelievesUOWprovided her not just with a degree, but more importantly, a sense of self-awareness, a sense of community belonging, and the confidence to chase her dreams.

'UOWgave me a place where I could be myself and find myself. I felt completely at ease there. Therefore, I felt free to become who I wanted to be. There, I could learn new things from many people and made many friends, including friends from all over the world, friends who were the first in their families to go to university, friends whose upbringing was completely opposite to mine....'

Despite her success in the media industry,Kumiremains humble. She said:'Everyone has different contributions. Ultimately, we all need to listen to our inner voice and believe in ourselves. Often, when I feel lost or out of sync with myself, I remind myself of what I truly care about and why, and then I find myself again.'

For more information about the courses in the Faculty of Arts, Social Sciences, and Humanities and Media, we look forward to everyone consulting with our China team to learn more~