Meet the people behind our passion: Taylah

Each member of our team is passionate about the role we play in making a positive impact in the community. Learn more about the people behind the passion and what makes them proud to be part of the work we do.

Introducing Taylah

I grew up in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne with a big Mauritian and Australian family. Thanks to my big family, I grew up with a lot of cousins my age. They gave me the courage and curiosity to try a lot of different sports like dancing, basketball, netball and AFL.

In high school, I enjoyed drama and the creative arts and discovered a passion for history and literature. I nurtured these interests through the years in stories I found in books, TV and film.

What is your role at the Information Access Group?

I’m the Editorial and Marketing Assistant. I write and edit Easy Read and plain language documents for our clients, as well as support the team with accessibility work. I write newsletter content and update our socials with our recent work and relevant news or events. I also organise our document and focus group testing, write quote and tender responses and support our project managers.

Tell us about a project you’ve worked on that you are proud of

I worked on a project about Medicare Mental Health Centres. It can be hard for people struggling with their mental health to find support. This was an important project to help people who need support with their mental health and inform them of what options they have.

What do you find most rewarding about the work you do at the Information Access Group?

I think the most rewarding part of the work I do is making important information accessible to as many people as possible. These days there’s a lot of misinformation to sift through. I think it’s important to explain things in a clear and simple way, so people understand information the first time they read it. I think this is in the best interest of both the reader and the writer.

You have a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Archaeology and History, and a Master of Writing and Publishing. What was the most important thing you learned from both fields of study?

My bachelor degree taught me a lot about historical events, impressive kingdoms and societies but ultimately it taught me a lot about people. We are capable of great achievements, honour and love but also great failure, terror and fear. My bachelor degree taught me to think critically about the world around me but also to appreciate the goodness in it too.

My master’s degree tested and refined my technical writing skills and developed my project management skills. The master’s degree was a masterclass in the publishing process, from manuscript to print, and taught me a lot about collaboration and relationships. 

Your mum is of Mauritian heritage and last year your extended family travelled to Mauritius. Was it meaningful to explore your cultural heritage?

It felt special to visit where half of my family is from, but especially because I got to do that alongside some of those family members. I enjoyed hearing stories about where my maternal grandparents grew up and spent the early part of their lives. I felt lucky to make new memories there with my closest family members. It was also cool to explore a country that isn’t my home but also felt so familiar. The language and food felt like home.

You’ve also travelled to New York City. What were some highlights?

In 2023, my mum, best friend and I spent the Christmas and New Year break in New York City. A day that sticks out to me is when we woke up in the pitch black to make it to the Brooklyn Bridge in time for sunrise. We followed that up with a trip to the top of the Empire State Building, then took the subway to a bagel shop for breakfast. From there we walked to Chelsea Market and explored there. We finished off the day with a dinner in Greenwich Village followed by a quick drink at a jazz bar.

We spent 2 weeks in the Big Apple and still felt like we barely scratched the surface. There’s so much to do and see. It’s a spectacular city.

Can you tell us about a story that had a big impact on your life?

The stories that have the biggest impact on me are the ones that evoke the most potent emotions. Sometimes that’s from the content itself, whatever I might be going through while I’m consuming it or what I learn from it.

One story that captures all of those reactions is Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad. It blew my mind when I first read it in year 10. This epic poem not only ignited my love for archaeology and classical studies, but also expanded what I thought was possible in literature. The way Homer used epithets, dramatic irony and foreshadowing paired with his commentary on ancient Greek ideas of xenia and hubris blew my 16-year-old mind.