THE
WRITE
WAY
How Henrietta
Lee paved her
path to a career
in journalism.
The next 800 words or so
tell the story (to date) of one
sensational woman. But if I
had to describe Henrietta Lee
in just one word? Delightful.
She’s bright, spirited and effervescent with
laughter, but also strikingly intelligent and
authentic. She’s a woman who’s grown
comfortable in her own skin and has chosen
to begin her professional journalistic career by
empowering other young women to feel the same.
According to Henrietta her love for words, along
with her independence, grew from an early age. ‘I
was always a big reader. We had a school project
once where we had to make a magazine and I
poured my heart and soul into it and I ended up
with really good marks and I just loved the whole
experience. From a young age I was told that I
was a good writer.’ But despite her confident
nature and her clear love for writing, it was a
passion and career aspiration she kept under
wraps for over a decade.
‘I always thought I might like to be a writer but
I was afraid to speak that aspiration out loud.
Writing is such an exposing thing to do, you’re so
vulnerable to what people think. I was afraid to
explore my talent and afraid that I might lose it or
not be as good at it as people had told me I was.’
So Henrietta turned her attention to hospitality.
But even behind the coffee machine and the front
counter she couldn’t escape her natural inclination
to dig a little deeper. ‘I realised I had a love of
stories and I’m fascinated by people. I just kind
of kept coming back to the idea of writing and
decided I didn’t want to let my fear keep getting
in the way.’ Today, Henrietta is just one course
away from completing her Bachelor of Arts
(Journalism) through USQ.
While she speaks highly (and warmly) of her
favourite lecturers, it’s clear that her time spent
studying abroad at the Waterford Institute of
Technology in Ireland is one of her fondest uni
memories. Indulging her passion for natural
living and wellness, she took a short reprieve
from writing and spent the semester studying
health and exercise. ‘I wanted to have a break
from journalism and it was just the most
amazing experience.