Student Journalist and Editor-in-Chief
Personal Narrative
Since early childhood, I have wanted to be a writer. From seeing the heroines of my favorite rom-coms to being an avid watcher of CNN since the fourth grade, my world is surrounded by the important job of journalism in our country and beyond. Writing and telling stories that allow people to step outside themselves and their viewpoints and gain insight into current events and issues that impact the most vulnerable gives me an intense sense of purpose. Living in a society where facts and fundamental truths are overlooked, I strive to continue the fight to bring crucial topics to light.
After three years of involvement in my school’s newsroom, I have decided to major in political journalism. As I continue my passion for politics in college I will enter an environment vastly different from the one I currently am in. Attending a private Catholic school means no reporting on political events, local government, or problems in the student body that would reflect poorly on the school. This leaves missed opportunities I look forward to covering when I participate in a college newspaper. But looking towards the future I hold a deep appreciation for the past and what being on the Miegian, my school’s publication, has brought me.
Joining the newspaper my sophomore year I was nervous about being the only one from my grade on staff. The warm welcome from the older editors allowed me to dive straight into writing stories and producing content for both print and web. The ability to actively participate in brainstorms and take on a larger role because of the smaller size of the staff was instrumental in allowing me to gain leadership experience before becoming web editor-in-chief the next year.
When starting my leadership position junior year I went into it with the mindset that I needed to further prove myself as a hard worker and someone the staff could come to for help. This was carried out by my pursuit of becoming a versatile member who is proficient in all things writing, design, and photography. I had to learn strong time management skills if I wanted to operate our website and still put my heart and soul into our print issues, always being available when the Print EIC needed anything. In the many sleepless nights I spent working on print last year, my passion and love for it grew, carrying me through the challenges of this year.
Making the transition from a staff writer to an EIC came with a learning curve, especially because we had an all-new staff. Being a junior made it difficult to gain authority over senior members but by growing strong relationships and showing my commitment to the class we grew mutual respect and produced great work.
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This year, I was named Print EIC of the Miegian. All the knowledge I had acquired and my passion for print could finally be used to its full potential. Even with a small staff of eighteen people and many newcomers, we produced our first issue of the year which was twenty-eight pages, eight more pages than last year’s additions. I led the staff in producing well-written, meaningful articles, complex designs, and amazing pictures. The final product was something we were all very proud of.
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Also facing an advisor transition I had to take on many additional responsibilities while teaching and explaining how the staff is run. I tried my best to not let this transition affect the staff, production quality, and workflow.
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As I have grown and matured in my role I often look back to my sophomore year and remember how I did not know anything. I had no clue how to even open Indesign or publish a story on the web. The time editors took to show me the ropes and answer all my questions not only gave me the wisdom of how to complete tasks but also how to guide others.
To me, leadership is not taking the praise when things go right but taking the fall when things go wrong. It means advocating for your staff when the oppression of their voice is at stake and listening to any concerns or input they have.
Self-improvement is always the goal as I want to remain in journalism for years to come. Successfully conveying your story’s meaning to the audience, collecting insightful interviews, and collaborating with photographers and designers to bring everything together is key. Recognizing the significance of all aspects of an article was a crucial part of broadening my understanding of the press.
At first, I was set on stating my opinion and only writing things I found interesting, but early on, I learned that telling the stories of others and finding out the why behind people’s thoughts and actions is the true meaning behind my work. Fine-tuning my word choice, having thoughtful sentence structure, and getting the perfect kicker quote to end a story fills me with excitement as I continue producing stories.
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The journalism program at my school has given me a place to develop my creativity, ask questions, build friendships, and gain a strong work ethic and leadership skills I would not trade for the world.