March 29, 2024

My first and last column

My senior year of high school I was nominated most likely to travel the world and I sometimes wonder if I’ll live up to that expectation my classmates predicted for me. I moved farther than most my first year of college and I’ve always had the mentality that everything happens for a reason. I value my education and have always had a hunger to pursue a career in something I can do for the rest of my life without feeling like I’m working. My dad has always encouraged me to pursue a higher education and never limited me to what I can or can’t do. I will never forget the words he told me before I committed to a school in North Carolina. “It’s OK to leave, to grow, and to discover who God made you to be.”

There was never a defining moment when I knew I wanted to become a photojournalist. I remember in the fourth grade I was looking through a National Geographic magazine and I couldn’t wrap my mind around the fact that those photos were places in the world that I may never actually see in person, but I was exposed to them through one simple photo. My dad always took photos of my brother and me growing up and the older I got, the more appreciative I became of him capturing moments that I may or may not remember. Eventually, my dad gave me his camera when I was in high school because I was using it more than he was.

In February, I started to think about my summer plans and my dad gave me the idea to reach out to the Creston News Advertiser. I was nervous and scared of rejection and I had never had a real interview before. So when Scott Vicker asked me to send him my resume, I freaked out and had to ask one of my friends to help me make one while we were in Florida for spring break. It didn’t hit me that I wasn’t going to be a stereotypical intern who does nothing but fetch others coffee until I saw something I had written on the front page of the newspaper. Being able to take a newspaper home to my dad and have him read what I worked on that week was monumental. I felt like I was in pre-K, taking some artwork home and watching tentatively to see how proud he was of me.

While interning for the newspaper I got to work with the Scott Vicker. I say the Scott Vicker because he was the first journalist I knew of when I was in high school. This will be the only time that I will ever hype him up but I remember seeing him at sporting events and associating him as "the guy in a flannel that's a journalist" and being jealous because he had the job that I wanted and I was stuck in high school. Being able to work and learn from someone I looked up to was unique and added a different dimension to my internship that I'm really grateful for.

Being a part of the newsroom was a great experience. I’m really going to miss this internship. I’m going to miss roasting Scott, getting coffee at Adams Street, sharing a desk with Larry and, most of all I’m going to miss having a sweet job that really didn’t feel like a job. Thank you for giving me the opportunity this summer to get to know the community of Creston and to learn and grow as a journalist. Now, I can add this to my resume that I actually have.