I will never forget the first time I walked into my new Journalism I class in room 201. It was the second semester of my sophomore year. I remember that I was late for the class because I couldn’t seem to find where it was. Little did I know that I would walk into a room in which I would spend most of my upperclassman years.
Before this year, I hadn’t been what people called a “social butterfly”, only doing what I needed to do to pass each class. I had also experienced a personal event that made me even less social, and I continued to struggle interacting with my classmates. This became evident as I walked into class, greeted by around 30 people. The group was getting ready to do a partnered up class discussion and I didn’t have a partner I could talk to. My teacher, Leslie Orman, had to be my partner. We shared three facts about ourselves that we then had to share with the class. Since I became the guinea pig of the class, I had to share out first, which made me feel even more embarrassed. However, I also felt a sense of accomplishment, I had done what the teacher had asked and managed to do it without falling on my face.
After this discussion, I was seated at a table with nobody I knew, but some people I would grow to know and work with in the years to come. I was assigned to a table that had a girl by the name of Nyah Warren. I remember conversations with her and her friends at the table vividly, and those experiences helped me grow out of my shell. Warren would go on to work for the Magazine after Journalism I, and we would eventually work together again in my senior year.
The first quarter of the class was spent entirely on taking notes and discussing the rules of publishing stories. I remember spending a lot of time talking to my tablemates instead of taking notes, but we all still managed to get the job done. When we were done learning about law and media ethics, it was time for us to write our first story, a personality profile. The personality profile is focused on one person and what their story is.
While I chose to interview one of my friends, the final product was good enough to catch the eye of my teacher. Her comments told me how my sports writing was natural and that it seemed like I knew what I was talking about, and wrote something that could be developed into a real sports story. This was when I first realized that I potentially wanted to write stories for a newspaper or magazine.
As the rest of the class went on, my confidence grew and grew, until I was able to comfortably interview people without feeling awkward. By the end of the class, I talked to Orman, and discussed the potential for me to join one of her Journalism II classes the following year. I remember us talking for a while until we both agreed to touch base later. My journalism journey had only just begun.
From JI to Yearbook Staff
One day near the beginning of my junior year, I once again ran into Orman, this time though, we walked away with a plan. I ended up dropping one of my second-semester classes to be on the Yearbook staff in the winter. Finally, I would get my chance to show off my sports writing again. However, Yearbook was a far different experience than I imagined.
Yearbook and Magazine have similarities, but are still very different. Yearbook focused more on the picture-taking and design aspect, while also providing a broader writing style. This was used to talk about school sports and activities that I never even knew existed. Going over these sports made me even more extroverted, talking to my new classmates and interviewees helped me form more connections.
Yearbook also helped me develop my picture-taking skills and I was able to get some pictures that would later end up on the pages of the Yearbook. One case in particular, I had taken the pictures for an entire spread. This class also followed tight deadlines and hard working periods, forcing me to adapt and create an intense work ethic that would serve me well the following year.
One experience from this class that sticks with me was that year’s Journalism Day competition in Columbia, Missouri. I did not enter any of my work for possible awards because I wasn’t proud of anything. This led me to feel out of place and like I didn’t belong, a feeling that would make the next year all the more rewarding.
By the end of the year, I had been very vocal about my intention to switch to Magazine to do the sports writing I had always wanted to do. Things got even more exciting when Orman offered me the chance to be the Magazine’s Sports Editor. It was a chance I couldn’t pass up, and after a week of deliberating, I got the position.
Overall, I would say my connections in Yearbook helped me be more social with my classmates and realize that we all need to rely on each other sometimes. The people in that class were amazing. I owe some of my success to those who helped me throughout the process. As the summer came, I was anxious to see what was in store for me on the other side of the journalism department.
Sports Editor and Member of the Magazine
I spent lots of time in the summer thinking about story ideas. I had no idea what the Magazine process would look like, but I knew I was ready to accept the challenge. The pressure of keeping the sports section top-notch for a nationally award-winning Magazine was hard to bear at some points, but my fellow editors helped me through every task.
Sophie Webb, Brooklyn Collins, and Warren provided some familiar faces that allowed me to be more comfortable in class while also showing me the ropes in a more gentle way. Then there was Aubree Sims, the bad cop to the others’ good cop. Sims was not scared to tell you how bad something was, even being extremely matter-of-fact, which I later grew to respect. Getting to know the rest of the staff wasn’t too bad a challenge, and our first Magazine ended up winning sixth place at the national convention in Philadelphia. Now with my first issue under my belt and my swim season over, I was able to apply more focus on getting the second issue’s sports section ready to go, as well as celebrate being recognized for an Honorable Mention state award for photo of the month.
Finally, it was time for us to attend Journalism Day again. This time, I had entered two personal pieces as well as our Editor-In-Chief, Nadia Warren, submitting the third issue of our Magazine. When we as a class went, we were shocked and upset when we didn’t hear our names called for any awards. I remember being so nervous that I let everyone down, and that feeling switched to upset when I thought we didn’t win anything. However, we did.
While I was at home feeling sorry for my classmates and myself, I got a text from Mrs. Orman. She couldn’t wait to tell me that I had received an All-Missouri rating on my sports picture, as well as winning another Honorable Mention for my sports reporting. I ended up telling everybody I knew because I was so happy. My classmates, my friends, and I celebrated with each other and the hard work we had done.
I’m glad that I joined the journalism department. My mother always told me that I should have found something else to do other than swim; little did we know that I found something that was perfect for me. These classes and experiences helped me develop into more of an extrovert, as well as helping me discover my dream job and career path in sports management. I am forever thankful for the memories made and the time spent in room 201, and that part of my life will always stick with me.
