What an interesting experience it was. I wasn’t always poised to become a journalism major. In fact, I didn’t declare it as my major until after my freshman year. I wouldn’t even work for a school paper until the beginning of my junior year.
As much as I was prepared by my professors and authors of my text books, the student newspaper gave me invaluable experience. Being able to practice what I was learning helped propel me to the next level.
With less than six months of newspaper experience — on two of which had been at The Mirror — I became the publication’s news editor. It was a struggle on a completely different level. It was one thing to mess up in class, but when that mistake was across campus 4,000 times, it taught me to be much more careful as a reporter and a writer.
The things I’ve learned about my profession are deeply rooted in becoming a fair and ethical messenger of the news. Although there are still fine details that escape my articles and I have never spent a day listening to the police scanner, I know I am prepared to work in this field.
On May 21, I will begin my first paid internship at the Rawlins Daily Times newspaper, and I also completed an internship at the Johnstown Breeze. I am far more prepared than the greater majority of journalism students entering the work force, and I couldn’t be more excited for it.
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