My freshman year of high school I joined our school news broadcast group, Griffin TV. After shadowing for a few days, I was set to finally work on a basic job behind the scenes soon, like operating the teleprompter, writing scripts or creating graphics. It was my last day of observing the show before this transition. The show was starting soon, and the crew was looking for someone to fill in as a co-anchor last minute. Our teacher looked to me and asked if I thought I could do it. I said yes and jumped right in.
For the next four years I spent countless hours in the studio, learning every job both behind the scenes and in front of the camera. I recognized that what we were doing was just a minuscule part of the greater world of journalism. I knew that I wanted to become a journalist and immerse myself in that world.
Going into my senior year, I began applying to colleges. Because this was less than two years since the covid-19 pandemic began, I was unable to go on college tours throughout junior year, as many high school students do. I did most of my visits during senior year. However, many of my applications were due in the fall. Because of this I had to apply to schools I hadn't even visited yet. In total, I ended up applying to 17 schools, which is a LOT.
I knew long before senior year that I wanted to study broadcast journalism in college. As I was making my list of schools I wanted to apply to, I was looking for places that had great journalism programs, and I really wanted a school with a state-of-the-art broadcast studio. This would allow me to practice in a professional environment.
I applied to Newhouse at Syracuse University, Fordham University, American University, Hofstra University and more. The one thing they all had in common was they had exceptional journalism programs and were located in the North East.
High Point University was not on my radar until an admissions counselor visited my school and convinced me to apply. I trusted his opinion immediately because he studied communications at HPU and attended my high school. Before I knew it, I was applying to my first and only school in the South. Needless to say I visited during presidential scholars weekend, took one look at the studio, and I was convinced. I put down my deposit that weekend and said goodbye to the 16 other schools I had applied to.
So that is how I ended up at the HPU journalism department. But how did I end up in this class?
Of course this class is a required course for all journalism students, but this class is more to me than just that. This class is an opportunity for me to learn more about the journalists who have come before me. By studying journalism history, I can learn what things I should do and what things I should not do. I firmly believe that studying the past is the best way to improve our future, and I hope that this class will help me do that as a journalist. I also couldn't pass up the chance to take another class with Dr. Smith. (This will be my 5th class with him!)
Overall, I have no doubt that I will learn so much this semester about what I consider to be one of the best professions in the world.
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