Latest news with #SamanthaEvans
The Age
18-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Age
As the only child of immigrants, I know the discomfort of moving into the middle class
I'll never forget the feeling of awe – and acute discomfort – the first time I walked into The Age 's newsroom. I was 22 and, for as long as I could remember, had wanted to work with the big (news) wigs in town. After two blissful and terrifying weeks working my butt off, I was asked to stay for another (I readily agreed), and eventually landed a permanent job. Little did I know how much coming in as an employee, and no longer an intern, would make me feel like a fish out of water. Yes, I had a degree from one of Australia's best universities, but I was still living in an outer western suburb, which felt like a world away. Conversations revolved around the inner north and south, with high-profile journalists I'd read for years talking about their weekends at book readings and music festivals, dining at new restaurants or checking out museums. Unlike most media professionals, I don't come from an English-speaking background, and while my working-class Polish roots have equipped me to fight and never give up, they didn't expose me to the world of theatre, musicals, overseas travel and multicultural cuisines. While in some ways this was my dream life, it still felt out of reach because I was a class migrant. Loading In an article for The Conversation, UK researchers Dr Madeline Wyatt and Samantha Evans found that people who experience social mobility through education often 'felt under pressure to change mannerisms, adjust their accents and conceal behavioural habits to fit into a workplace'. As one participant in their 2022 study said: 'The [work] culture is very middle class, where it might be that you can quote Latin, that you drink wine rather than beer, that you socialise in a certain way.' This kind of social mobility also tends to affect family dynamics. In Australia, we like to pretend that class doesn't exist or, at the very least, matter all that much. But as Dr Alexandra Coleman from the University of Western Sydney points out, education has become a dominant hope for a good life. Take, for example, riot police recently being called to manage unruly crowds at Sydney's Canterbury Racecourse, where selective school exams were being held, and unruly parents jostled for their children to enter the test and, by extension, a better life. While I have learnt to 'pass', the natural trappings of wealth and comfort are easy for us outsiders to recognise if you know the signs. I once dated a guy whose dinner table guests included famous playwrights and political figures, and who asked me, 'Three prime ministers came out of my school. How many came out of yours?'
Sydney Morning Herald
18-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Sydney Morning Herald
As the only child of immigrants, I know the discomfort of moving into the middle class
I'll never forget the feeling of awe – and acute discomfort – the first time I walked into The Age 's newsroom. I was 22 and, for as long as I could remember, had wanted to work with the big (news) wigs in town. After two blissful and terrifying weeks working my butt off, I was asked to stay for another (I readily agreed), and eventually landed a permanent job. Little did I know how much coming in as an employee, and no longer an intern, would make me feel like a fish out of water. Yes, I had a degree from one of Australia's best universities, but I was still living in an outer western suburb, which felt like a world away. Conversations revolved around the inner north and south, with high-profile journalists I'd read for years talking about their weekends at book readings and music festivals, dining at new restaurants or checking out museums. Unlike most media professionals, I don't come from an English-speaking background, and while my working-class Polish roots have equipped me to fight and never give up, they didn't expose me to the world of theatre, musicals, overseas travel and multicultural cuisines. While in some ways this was my dream life, it still felt out of reach because I was a class migrant. Loading In an article for The Conversation, UK researchers Dr Madeline Wyatt and Samantha Evans found that people who experience social mobility through education often 'felt under pressure to change mannerisms, adjust their accents and conceal behavioural habits to fit into a workplace'. As one participant in their 2022 study said: 'The [work] culture is very middle class, where it might be that you can quote Latin, that you drink wine rather than beer, that you socialise in a certain way.' This kind of social mobility also tends to affect family dynamics. In Australia, we like to pretend that class doesn't exist or, at the very least, matter all that much. But as Dr Alexandra Coleman from the University of Western Sydney points out, education has become a dominant hope for a good life. Take, for example, riot police recently being called to manage unruly crowds at Sydney's Canterbury Racecourse, where selective school exams were being held, and unruly parents jostled for their children to enter the test and, by extension, a better life. While I have learnt to 'pass', the natural trappings of wealth and comfort are easy for us outsiders to recognise if you know the signs. I once dated a guy whose dinner table guests included famous playwrights and political figures, and who asked me, 'Three prime ministers came out of my school. How many came out of yours?'
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Boy draws 99 animals for David Attenborough's 99th birthday
A five-year-old boy has drawn 99 animals to mark Sir David Attenborough's 99th birthday. Max Evans-Browning has been a fan of Attenborough from the moment he could talk, said mum Samantha, and wanted to do something special to mark the birthday of the renowned British biologist. Spanning across eight A3 sheets of paper, the project took Max four days to complete, as he spent every evening after school drawing Attenborough's favourite animals. Samantha has now put out a plea on social media for his animals to be shared "far and wide" in the hopes of the reaching the man himself. Attenborough at 99 delivers 'greatest message he's ever told' Sir David Attenborough: 'The world would be worse off without our stories' In the post on Facebook, Samantha, from Pembrokeshire, said she would love to see the card reach Sir David as it's "her little boy's dream". The post gained hundreds of shares in under 24 hours, with people leaving comments of praise. "Max is fascinated people in Australia could see the post," Samantha said. "We spent hours researching [Sir David's] favourite animals. He really wanted to get it right." Sir David entered his hundredth year on 6 May, and has dedicated his life to documenting the natural world. "[Max] watches animals, reads about animals, his bedroom is animals," Samantha said. "And he knows the most rare animals. He will say 'I know that it's a pangolin' and I'm like, what, I don't even know what that is." Samantha said Max had watched all of Sir David's documentaries and he had more animal encyclopaedia's than she can keep track of. Max takes any occasion to dress like him, Samantha said, and aged just three he decided to be Sir David for World Book Day. Speaking of the animal documentaries, she said: "He listens to everything and takes it all in. "He goes litter picking, he loves the ocean, but all the plastic makes him angry. "Some of the scenes you would think might upset him, but ever since a young age it hasn't. He would say 'well a predator goes after its prey, that's life'," she said. "It's true but it's funny coming out of a little person." But despite all of the attention, all Max is hoping for now is that Sir David will get his birthday card. "Thank you in advance and Mr Attenborough, if you ever see this... Happy Birthday from Max Evans-Browning, age 5 from Pembrokeshire." Postcard finally arrives 121 years after it was sent Attenborough named 'Champion of the Earth' by UN Boy who defied odds gets 1,500 birthday cards
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Boy draws 99 animals for David Attenborough's 99th birthday
A five-year-old boy has drawn 99 animals to mark Sir David Attenborough's 99th birthday. Max Evans-Browning has been a fan of Attenborough from the moment he could talk, said mum Samantha, and wanted to do something special to mark the birthday of the renowned British biologist. Spanning across eight A3 sheets of paper, the project took Max four days to complete, as he spent every evening after school drawing Attenborough's favourite animals. Samantha has now put out a plea on social media for his animals to be shared "far and wide" in the hopes of the reaching the man himself. Attenborough at 99 delivers 'greatest message he's ever told' Sir David Attenborough: 'The world would be worse off without our stories' In the post on Facebook, Samantha, from Pembrokeshire, said she would love to see the card reach Sir David as it's "her little boy's dream". The post gained hundreds of shares in under 24 hours, with people leaving comments of praise. "Max is fascinated people in Australia could see the post," Samantha said. "We spent hours researching [Sir David's] favourite animals. He really wanted to get it right." Sir David entered his hundredth year on 6 May, and has dedicated his life to documenting the natural world. "[Max] watches animals, reads about animals, his bedroom is animals," Samantha said. "And he knows the most rare animals. He will say 'I know that it's a pangolin' and I'm like, what, I don't even know what that is." Samantha said Max had watched all of Sir David's documentaries and he had more animal encyclopaedia's than she can keep track of. Max takes any occasion to dress like him, Samantha said, and aged just three he decided to be Sir David for World Book Day. Speaking of the animal documentaries, she said: "He listens to everything and takes it all in. "He goes litter picking, he loves the ocean, but all the plastic makes him angry. "Some of the scenes you would think might upset him, but ever since a young age it hasn't. He would say 'well a predator goes after its prey, that's life'," she said. "It's true but it's funny coming out of a little person." But despite all of the attention, all Max is hoping for now is that Sir David will get his birthday card. "Thank you in advance and Mr Attenborough, if you ever see this... Happy Birthday from Max Evans-Browning, age 5 from Pembrokeshire." Postcard finally arrives 121 years after it was sent Attenborough named 'Champion of the Earth' by UN Boy who defied odds gets 1,500 birthday cards
BBC News
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Sir David Attenborough: Boy draws 99 animals for biologist's birthday
A five-year-old boy has drawn 99 animals to mark Sir David Attenborough's 99th birthday. Max Evans-Browning has been a fan of Attenborough from the moment he could talk, said mum Samantha, and wanted to do something special to mark the birthday of the renowned British across eight A3 sheets of paper, the project took Max four days to complete, as he spent every evening after school drawing Attenborough's favourite animals. Samantha has now put out a plea on social media for his animals to be shared "far and wide" in the hopes of the reaching the man himself. In the post on Facebook, Samantha, from Pembrokeshire, said she would love to see the card reach Sir David as it's "her little boy's dream".The post gained hundreds of shares in under 24 hours, with people leaving comments of praise."Max is fascinated people in Australia could see the post," Samantha said."We spent hours researching [Sir David's] favourite animals. He really wanted to get it right."Sir David entered his hundredth year on 6 May, and has dedicated his life to documenting the natural world. "[Max] watches animals, reads about animals, his bedroom is animals," Samantha said. "And he knows the most rare animals. He will say 'I know that it's a pangolin' and I'm like, what, I don't even know what that is."Samantha said Max had watched all of Sir David's documentaries and he had more animal encyclopaedia's than she can keep track of. Max takes any occasion to dress like him, Samantha said, and aged just three he decided to be Sir David for World Book Day. Speaking of the animal documentaries, she said: "He listens to everything and takes it all in. "He goes litter picking, he loves the ocean, but all the plastic makes him angry."Some of the scenes you would think might upset him, but ever since a young age it hasn't. He would say 'well a predator goes after its prey, that's life'," she said. "It's true but it's funny coming out of a little person." But despite all of the attention, all Max is hoping for now is that Sir David will get his birthday card. "Thank you in advance and Mr Attenborough, if you ever see this... Happy Birthday from Max Evans-Browning, age 5 from Pembrokeshire."
