Graduation and Lessons Learned

It's a difficult question whether or not a degree in journalism is worth it. My dream job was to work at the Rocky Mountain News. When that paper went defunct I wasn't sure if I wanted to be a journalist anymore. The newspapers are dying off, and you don't need a degree to start a blog. I ultimately decided to stay with journalism because it still has lessons to teach.

Journalism taught me to check information, and then double check it. I learned that it was important to be skeptical of any information, to get an understanding of where the information came from, and for what purpose was it being released.

My favorite story was one I did three years ago. I was covering a seminar hosted by TJ Leyden, a former white supremacist who was going around campuses teaching a message of tolerance. The seminar was powerful, and Leyden was risking his life talking about his former association with the Neo-Nazi movement. In the crowd there was Walter Plywaski, who had survived the holocaust. The meeting of these two men was a powerful moment in my life. The fact that I was able to tell the story of these two men and how they met showed me the importance of good journalism.

There are times where I love being a journalist, and then are times where I feel like as though it's a terrible job. Through the good and the bad, the Journalism program has taught me how to write, how to report, how to connect with the world, and to be both a good journalist and a good person.