Introductory Post: Why am I perusing a degree in journalism and what are my expectations?

I graduated college in May of 2008, at the beginning of a global financial crisis that some economist say could end up being the worst financial crisis since the great depression. I began looking for career-oriented jobs sometime around February of my Senior year of college. The problem was that there weren’t any jobs that wanted to be found. For over a decade it had been engrained into my brain that education and hard work were the keys to success. What about all of the promises that if I went to college, and received high marks that I could do no wrong? I had always assumed that if I did everything “right,” my dream career would just fall into my lap within moments of receiving my diploma. Wrong.

I took a job in PR in San Francisco because I decided that was better than being unemployed and living with my parents. After my previous internships in Boston, working in tech PR was about as satisfying as sugar free, dairy free ice cream. I lasted a total of 9 months before the company I was working for laid off 70% of their staff due to hard economic times and I found myself back at square one. I then decided to take a year off, move to Tahoe, and ski. After one year of waitressing, I not only yearned for a larger p aycheck, but I craved intellectual discourse as well. I wanted to be around people who were smarter than me and who wanted to teach. I wanted to get back to the heart of journalism. Since the economy hadn’t changed much and the jobs still weren’t there, I decided that going back to school and learning to become a better journalist was a great option. I wasn’t ready to leave Tahoe and the piece of mind that living in the mountains afforded me, so UNR seemed perfect.

So let’s rewind. Why journalism? Growing up I wasn’t allowed to watch TV on school nights. The first time I ever defied this rule, my mom caught me watching the KTVU Chanel 2 10 o’clock news. It fascinated me; for as long as I can remember I found real life more “entertaining” that fiction. I wasn’t sure which part of the industry I wanted to be a part of, but I just knew it was for me. I declared journalism as my major at freshman orientation and the next five years were the best of my life. My first TV production teacher told me I had “promise” as an on air reporter and “knack” for story telling.

My junior year of college I interned at CNN. Those 8 months solidified my decision to work in broadcast journalism. I learned and experienced more during that time then I had during the previous 3 years in school. I went straight from my internship with CNN to New England Cable News where I worked as an assistant to the chief political reporter during the 2008 Primary elections in New Hampshire. Once again, the experiences were priceless and it made me even hungrier on my quest to becoming a reporter.

I hope that my education and time spent as a graduate student at UNR allows me to be the best journalist I can be, and prepares me for whatever happens next in my career. I would love to leave UNR with a greater and more thorough understanding of what it means to be a journalist in the 21st century.