Rochelle Kirkham grew up in Melbourne and first came to the Ballarat district as a university student to work at the Daylesford Advocate while she was studying Journalism at RMIT. After finishing uni she commenced an internship at the Ballarat Courier; now, three and a half years later, Rochelle and her partner have stayed, to make Ballarat their home. Since commencing her role at the Courier, Rochelle has undertaken many different reporting roles, initially writing general interest pieces and now also working as a local Court Reporter. Through her work Rochelle has been able to learn more about Ballarat and its local people, enjoying the opportunity to immerse herself in the local community and helping to educate the people of Ballarat on important issues, such as the realities of Ballarat’s homeless population and different community organisations designed to support them. Though a fairly new member of the local community Rochelle has taken the opportunity to get involved, she regularly rehearses and performs as a flautist with the Ballarat Memorial Concert Band and in 2021, Rochelle competed in and won Ballarat’s “Dancing with our Stars” competition.
