MARTIN MCKENZIE EDWARD is a mature student studying on the BA (Hons) Communication & Media degree.

He left rural Scotland 30 years ago to train as a ‘chef ‘ with the British Army; subsequent career moves include postman, theatre nurse and cheesy mobile DJ. As a late starter to higher education his main areas of interest are literature and creative writing projects.

Martin is currently developing a collection of short stories related to a childhood inspired by the likes of Barry Hines, Lee Hall and Shane Meadows.

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ANGELICA JOPSON finds inspiration in the works of J M Coetzee, Maya Angelou and C J Chivers. Her love of literature and literary journalism led her to Bournemouth University, where she recently completed BA (Hons) Multimedia Journalism.

She is especially interested in global affairs and new media. She has worked as a web editor for the Exberliner magazine and has freelanced for rediff.com.

Angelica aspires to report on issues that mobilise rather than subdue readers and work within independent press as far as possible.

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DAVE WHEELER is a recent BA (Hons) Communication & Media graduate.

Originally from the London commuter town of Rickmansworth, Dave has been writing for a number of outlets both inside and outside the University. His final year dissertation focused on investigating the impact of Twitter and other social media on British local newspapers.

Dave is currently trying to set up a life for himself in Canada. He enjoys swimming, technology and performing music. Follow him on Twitter here.

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GEO WILLIS is entering the final year of BA (Hons) Communication and Media.

Her career goals are located somewhere within writing, editing and publishing. Geo is an avid fan of fantasy fiction and virtual reality novels especially the work of Tad Williams and Neal Stephenson. As a former body piercer, she is currently helping organise the 2011 Bournemouth Ink Tattoo Convention with the Dorset Music Forum.

Geo regularly blogs on everything from politics to psychology on The Third World.

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BEN DONALDSON has recently completed BA (Hons) Communication and Media.

He has a passion for the advertising industry. Experienced in website design and digital marketing Ben works on many of the creative aspects of STANDF1RST, maintaining the site appearance and keeping the design up-to-date.

He is enthusiastic about social media and blogs about graphic design and advertising here, and tweets about general life here.

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HOLLY MARTIN is entering the final year of her BA (Hons) in Communication and Media.

She is currently developing  creative ideas to achieve her dream of becoming a successful author. Holly draws inspiration from chick-lit authors such as Marianne Keyes and Catherine Alliot, as well as the culture novels of Iain Banks.

Holly loves fashion and would love to work for Vogue or Grazia. But this summer she is with Dentalign Orthodontics, working on a magazine project — not to mention being the heart and soul of fashion advice on STANDF1RST.

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WENXI LI  is originally from China and is studying for a PhD in Computer Animation at the Media School.

Wenxi comes from a technical programming background and his work is in 3D cloth simulation. He enjoys living life to the maximum, experiencing new things all the time — and when he is not in front of the computer, he is hard at play.

His motto: You only have one life, so party hard.

Wenxi’s passions include playing the guitar and photography. Small wonder than that he took on the mantle of being STANDF1RST’s image man.

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LAURA HOLMAN has recently completed her BA (Hons) in Communication and Media.

With a passion for news feature writing, Laura has gained a wealth of experience at a number of national and local newspapers. Her dissertation investigated the differences in the reporting of pandemics between broadsheet and tabloid newspapers.

Laura will be travelling the Southern hemisphere this winter to experience some new cultural perspectives before she returns to further her career in journalism.

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SAFA THARIB, originally from rural Shropshire, is currently doing a PhD in Computer Animation. He is STANDF1RST’s official illustrator.

Safa’s background is in film and animation and his interests are in character design and narrative. Safa has a passion for storytelling and regularly produces short films and graphic novels, featuring novel characters and edgy narratives.

One of Safa’s main passions is animal rights and he hopes to help the cause though his works, which regularly feature animal characters. His projects and creations can be found on his website www.kap13.com.

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HAYLEY MARTIN is a BA (Hons) Communication & Media final year student. Above all Hayley is interested in social media, microblogging and PR 2.0. In the run up to the 2010 General Election she wrote blog entries for the Daily Echo (Bournemouth) as a first-time voter.

Hayley envisages a career path in Marketing and PR. She is currently on work placement with the strategic marketing agency Cre8ive Wisdom, and is busy promoting Serenata – Britain’s First Classical Music Festival.

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LAUREN BIRD is a final year BA (Hons) Communication & Media student.

Aiming for a marketing career, Lauren spent the summer at the 3 Sided Cube, a web solutions company based in Bournemouth, where, among other responsibilities, she wrote news stories for different publications and networked using social media.

She also works part time at the Bournemouth International Centre, which means she is up to date with with the latest events in Bournemouth.

Lauren looks after STANDF1RST’s What’s On section.