Suzan Delibasic is an award-winning journalist who got her start at Leader Community News. In 2017, Suzan won the News Corp News Award for Achievements in Community Journalism and in 2018 the Melbourne Press Club Quill Award for Excellence in Suburban Journalism. She loves all things tech, gaming, data and gadgets, currently working as a technology journalist at The New Daily.

Suzan is a Tech Reporter at The New Daily but her start at Leader Community News was essential in allowing her to develop her skills, gain exposure and learn from experienced journalists.

Through her studies at Monash she was mentored by Australian journalism giants such as Bill Birnbauer and the late Phillip Chubb. She credits her tutors in guiding her to a strong start in her journalism career.

"They pushed me to apply for jobs... and they were always there to have a talk and give me advice," Suzan said.

"I can’t express how grateful I am to my lecturers and tutors."

For her part in writing about the Lee family's story, Suzan won the prestigious Quill Award in the Suburban Category. The Lee family were facing imminent deportation after a series of missteps in their application process for permanent residency. This is a battle that Suzan had helped fight over several months in 2017.

"I was the only reporter on that paper [Monash Leader], so my editor told me to make it my priority and so I did."

But for Suzan, the most meaningful part of the job was being able to connect with and help a diverse range of people.

It was through Suzan’s intervention the crisis the family had faced was given reconsideration.

"Trust is so important in a case like this. They have to trust me to tell their story in the right way, to not misrepresent them or their case," she explained. "Even after the first bid for intervention was rejected, I told them not to give up because if we’ve got more stories, we have more hope."

It’s only one of many instances where Suzan feels she could make an impact on her community through hyper-localised news.

"It’s so valuable, it holds and connects the base of a society together, so it’s really worth having a start in community news."