Avina Vidyadharan, reporter at Northern Advocate working on all community-focused news, but with a special focus on the education sector.

I'm Avina Vidyadharan – I’ve been with the Northern Advocate since 2021. I grew up in India, in a multicultural town called Vadodara. I studied a Masters in Journalism and Mass Communication from M S University in India, and worked as a digital journalist for a year before moving to Aotearoa in 2019. My journey in New Zealand began with a PG Diploma in Communications from AUT University. My first journalistic experience in the country soon followed in the rural town of Wairoa. I worked as a community news reporter at the Wairoa Star for nine months, where I was familiarised with the crucial role community plays in the media and vice versa. At the Northern Advocate I am the education eye on the ground. I have covered a huge array of news from the education sector – be it vaccine mandates or award-winning students, as well as sharing the voices of 5-year-olds with Government officials. I have a real hunger for new narratives, which pushes me beyond focusing entirely on education. Working in a regional newspaper has again restored the understanding of community-focused news and so I cover and write any story that advocates a human voice. Outside work, you may find me awkward, funny, or maybe like my boss described me - a “straight up gangster”. But honestly, I am still processing my big shift to this country and learning everything it has to offer.