Coming into college, you receive a lot of advice. People will tell you how to arrange your schedule, how to make friends, and what to eat or avoid in the dining hall until it all starts to blur together and you’re not sure what to listen to. The advice starts to lose meaning, so you try to cling to one piece and hope it’ll end up helping you.
For me, I chose to take it to heart when people told me to get involved. As an incoming journalism major who’d never had the opportunity to write for a school newspaper, I was both excited and terrified by the prospect of joining the 1851 Chronicle.
If it wasn’t for the friendly face and helping hand of our former professor and advisor Marie Franklin, I don’t think I would have such a strong love for journalism as I do today.
She, along with the editors and staff, guided me through my first meetings, interviews and deadlines with grace and advice.
As someone who had never interviewed a stranger or written for anything besides a grade, I felt like I was in over my head. I wasn’t confident in my writing and the thought of sitting down in a room full of people I didn’t know was daunting. Despite this, I went to my first pitch meeting and took a story. As the months went on, the interviews were less intimidating and writing became easier.
Now, three years and two editor roles later, I’m grateful for every tough story and late night at layout, even when everything seems to go wrong. I’m appreciative of the experiences and knowledge I’ve gained with every interview I’ve conducted. I’ve discovered new perspectives from people I otherwise never would’ve spoken to about topics I knew nothing about. Through writing about everything from events and traditions to countless clubs and people, I’ve gained a much deeper understanding of this campus and the lives of so many students here.
Most of all, I’m thankful to the people I’ve met because of the paper. Every co-writer I’ve written with and advisor who has overseen us has helped me grow as a writer. I’ve learned something at every meeting from my fellow editors, from AP style rules to how to survive the long hours of layout at the end of every month, to everywhere in between.
I’m grateful for a lot of things, but especially for the fact that I listened to that particular piece of advice three years ago. I truly believe I wouldn’t be the same person I am today if I hadn’t stepped into the Chronicle office all those Tuesdays ago.
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