From the journalism trainee scheme to reporting on The One Show

For the past 11 months I've been on the BBC's Journalism Trainee Scheme, working on news online in Leeds, 5 Live and Breakfast TV.

The JTS is obviously an incredibly demanding course - we're constantly circulating between placements, getting to know new people and learning the ropes of each platform. I was really keen from the offset though to try and keep up with chasing original stories outside of the news agenda, as it can be so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day grind.

When a current affairs editor stumbled upon a film I made before the JTS and said he enjoyed the style of it, I made sure to stay in touch and on his radar.

A few months later we bandied a few ideas about and from this meeting an opportunity came up to create a short film for The One Show on some of the modern day conflicts within the Muslim community. I was fascinated to get stuck into some of the difficulties young women particularly can face if they choose to leave or join Islam and I really wanted to create something that moved away from the typical, often one-dimensional pieces we see on extremism.

After work and on weekends, I spent time getting to know some interesting case studies over a few months, who I found through blogs, Twitter and even meeting face-to-face at events. It was really crucial for me to allow the story some breathing space and to really try and gain contributor's trust before launching into any filming.

One of the most difficult challenges I faced was getting the tone of the piece right – tackling anything to do with religion in this current climate can be difficult, so it was key we created something thoughtful and interesting, without being too inflammatory for a prime-time, family programme like The One Show.

My JTS training really came into action after my idea was pitched and commissioned. Key skills we'd learned from TV training like asking open-ended questions and being aware of your body language and composure when doing pieces-to-camera instantly put me at ease and meant I was rightly focusing on bringing the best out of my interviewee.

The whole journey was a real crash-course in some of the ups and downs of getting TV pieces to air, but it really hit home how important it is to be resilient in journalism and keep your composure amongst set-backs.

It was an incredible experience getting creative control and being fully immersed in the idea from its conception, to crafting the journalistic angle and then getting to present on the final report. Seeing the finished product go out on national TV was a proud moment and really re-iterated to me why challenging yourself to go beyond the day-to-day can really make an impact.