Graduate Jona is teaching kindness and empathy for chickens through her children's book ‘Honey the Hen’

SKIP TO CONTENT

Graduate Jona is teaching kindness and empathy for chickens through her children's book ‘Honey the Hen’

RMIT staff member Jona Eselaye David rediscovered her passion for writing during maternity leave. Now she is graduating with a Certificate IV in Professional Writing and Editing and has already published her first children's book.

Becoming a parent is a transformative experience for any person, but for Jona Eselaye David having her daughter, Mikaela, inspired her to take on a whole new career ambition: author.

Before Mikaela, Jona had built a successful role in RMIT’s Student Admissions team. But, while she was on parental leave, she started to consider a career path she’d dreamed of as a child – creative writing.

“As a kid, I embodied the cliche of an avid reader who spent every spare moment dreaming of another world and jotting stories in a notebook,” said Jona.

In high school, Jona wrote poetry and short stories – encouraged by her literature teacher – but, when she entered adulthood, between her studies and work, she found little time for putting pen to paper.

It wasn’t until Jona was pregnant that she was inspired to again pursue her passion for writing and publishing.

“Becoming a mum, it became really important to me to live true to my values, because that's what I wanted my daughter to do,” said Jona.

I wanted to show her that I am not afraid to take opportunities and chase my dreams.

Jona enrolled in the Certificate IV in Professional Writing and Editing at RMIT and, soon after, started working on her first children's book. When looking for subject matter, she was inspired by another lesson she wanted to instil in her daughter – the importance of having empathy for all living things.

Honey the Hen was born out of one of Jona’s personal experiences – the death of her family hen Honey, finding that many people lacked empathy toward losing chickens.

“People made passing comments that we could have roast chicken for dinner,” Jona said. “Honey had been a much-loved family member, and I wondered if people would make similar comments if she had been a cat or a dog.”

The protagonist of Honey the Hen – Mikaela – is, of course, named after Jona's now five-year-old daughter who displays kindness to all animals.

I hope readers can relate to Mikaela's love for Honey, and that their friendship normalises compassion towards animals, regardless of species.

Jona is constantly inspired by her daughter and credits Mikaela for her decision to return to writing.

“Having Mikaela is the reason I made time for writing and just did it.”

Person standing behind desk holding book

Studying and working as a mum

Jona says balancing her full-time role working at RMIT, a young family and studying her Certificate IV part-time has been challenging, but she is driven by her love for learning and writing.

She appreciates the practical and intimate environment that vocational education provides and has found it vastly different form her earlier higher education experience, studying a double Bachelors in Science and Business, also at RMIT.

“I'm loving every moment of the Certificate IV in Professional Writing and Editing,” said Jona. “It's an environment where you're surrounded by other people with similar interests. I found a sense of accountability and it helps me stay focused."

Jona also gets a lot of joy from reading her classmates’ work. “I've loved the opportunity to connect with other emerging writers over a shared love of literature,” she said.

Advice for aspiring authors

What are Jona’s top tips for other aspiring authors? Have good literary citizenship – writing doesn’t have to be a solo activity. She recommends participating in active workshopping as the best way to make industry connections and improve your writing.

“It can be daunting sharing your work and opening yourself up to constructive criticism,” Jona said. “Fellow writers are readers at heart and will help you bring out the best in your writing.”

What's next?

After she graduates at the end of this year, Jona plans to continue writing and publishing her work. She has ideas for other picture books, poetry and wants to explore non-fiction writing.

She believes that there is no time like the present to pursue all her writing interests.

“Life will only continue to get busier,” said Jona. “There's no such thing as the right time to nurture your creative interests or hobbies."

Person holding book standing outside

Graduate Jona Eselaye David with her children's book Honey the Hen

Find out more about Jona on her LinkedIn and Instagram.

Celebrating our 2025 graduates

To read about more exceptional RMIT students graduating this year, go to Celebrating our 2025 graduates.

Read more

05 November 2025

More student news

Meet RMIT’s Graduating Student Ambassador for 2025, James Anquetil

03 Dec 2025

Engineering student and RMIT Motorsport Team Lead James will be speaking at this year’s Graduation Ceremony at Marvel Stadium.

Roman wearing a black button up shirt pictured from chest up

Banking on soft skills: How an overseas internship changed Roman's perspective and got him a graduate job at NAB

03 Dec 2025

Participating in an internship exchange program allowed business student Roman Fontana to explore Ho Chi Minh City and land a graduate position back home in Melbourne.

woman in dress standing in front of plant boxes

Engineering impact: Tanvi is embracing her creativity and career connections to help combat water insecurity

28 Nov 2025

After studying civil engineering and working in the industry, Tanvi Shaikh decided to head back to university where she has embraced every opportunity to build her skills and tackle pressing environmental issues.

Laptop open displaying an email message

That’s bait! How to identify a scam and avoid falling victim

27 Nov 2025

It’s common to think that scams only affect the elderly, but did you know young people are increasingly likely to fall victim to scams? Here’s how to avoid being scammed and what to do if you fall victim.

aboriginal flag float-start

torres strait flag float-start

Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

More information