I joined The Daily Utah Chronicle’s news desk on a whim. One day during a Zoom class, a fellow student sent an application link in the chat and I thought, why not? At the time, I didn’t realize how significant that decision would turn out to be.
Before transferring to the University of Utah, I was studying journalism and digital media at Salt Lake Community College. Broadcast and TV journalism were my primary interests during my stint at SLCC, and my mind was already pretty set on pursuing a career in that field. In fact, I actually dreaded news writing the most out of all the journalistic endeavors I studied at SLCC. But now, news writing is my primary interest and ultimately, I hope to find a career in print journalism after I depart from the U.
Jumping from TV to print and changing career paths has been a trend in my college experience. Initially, I was pursuing film production at SLCC and hoping to do something in the movie industry. But, after developing some health issues, the physical demands of a movie set no longer seemed feasible. So, I switched to pursuing an associate’s degree in journalism and digital media because it had some elements of the filmmaking.
But ultimately, the reason the Chronicle has changed my career trajectory is because the paper served as an outlet to explore my curiosity, which was the main reason I returned to school in the first place.
Whether it be interviewing a member of South Korea’s National Assembly about the country’s months-long doctor strike, or learning about the history of a coal mining town in northeastern China from a Harvard professor, the Chronicle gave me the freedom and opportunity to let me satiate any of my wandering curiosities. Then, I got to share the findings of those inquiries in a meaningful way.
While I credit this freedom of exploration as one of the main reasons my time at the Chrony made a career in journalism writing look so much more appealing to me, it is not the only reason. Not only has my work on the news desk helped fulfill my passion for learning, it also taught me the fundamental purpose of news and the importance of covering local politics.
Last spring’s Utah College Media Collaborative coverage of International Democracy Day helped cement this lesson. The media collaborative, a project that brought together student newsrooms from colleges across the state, coincided with the Utah State Legislature’s failed attempt to ram through a controversial constitutional amendment. It would have thwarted a state Supreme Court ruling and give state lawmakers the power to void any voter-passed initiative they desired. The significance of this story and the unique access the Chronicle had with lawmakers gave me a newfound appreciation of local politics and the need to inform the public of the inner-workings of lawmakers’ deliberations and legislation.
My time on the news desk also gave me newfound confidence in myself. It pushed me into doing things I never imagined myself doing. For instance, as a fairly introverted person with somewhat tamed social anxiety, I am absolutely terrified of public speaking. Despite this, I participated in multiple question-and-answer panels and public talks at events and symposiums to discuss my participation in collaborative projects. Finding myself working in such unfamiliar and uncomfortable situations has made many of my self-limiting thoughts far easier to dismiss. I’ve become more open to the many possibilities life will throw at me.
