About Me
Barq's Root Beer: Check.
Notebook: Check.
Killer lede: In progress.
You can guzzle caffeine to stay energized and scour a notebook full of quotes, but without the ability to transfer raw material into a well-crafted story, you've got nothing.
As a rising senior at the University of Florida, I get the chance to tell a new story every day. Sometimes it's a hard numbers piece -- all sales tax price hikes and national deficit figures. Other days, it's a feature on a group of tomato farmers fighting against Publix and other corporations for their rights. Occasionally, I get to spend an evening with a rising politician like U.S. Senator Marco Rubio learning about his perspective on the nation's biggest problems.
But every day, I learn something new and I get to teach the public a little about it too - one story at a time.
At 21 years old, I'm evolving into the professional I want to be. Most importantly, I'm evolving along with my career. As online journalism practices develop new tricks and techniques, journalists such as myself must evolve with them.
As a rising senior at the University of Florida majoring in journalism and political science, I learn new things about my chosen field every day through my studies and work experiences.
Lane DeGregory, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter, once said that you need to get a life outside of journalism because the friends you have away from the newsroom are usually the ones who give you the best story ideas. When I'm not out chasing a story, you can find me curled up on the couch with friends watching slasher movie marathons or rocking out to my favorite band at a concert downtown.
I also quench my thirst for a good argument by competing in Model United Nations competitions with the University of Florida team. I've played the part of everything from the nation of Nigeria to a bard in the ancient Malian empire at conferences held in Florida, Virginia and other states.
As I enter my senior year at UF, I will take care to ensure I learn all of the skills I'll need to become a successful journalist. As the industry continues to evolve, I'll continue to evolve right along with it.
Social networking icons courtesy of Janko Jovanovic.
