For a lot of my life I was convinced I was going to be an author. I loved reading, so what else was I supposed to do with my life?
In my junior year of high school, my favorite English teacher recommended I join the journalism elective course. I was a little hesitant, but I loved writing, so I gave it a shot. My school had a print newspaper as well, and physically seeing my name in those bylines was such a great feeling. I went on to become an editor senior year and started applying to colleges as a journalism major, which gave me crazy imposter syndrome. Who was I to think I could become a journalist?
I went to a handful of The New Hampshire (TNH) meetings freshman and sophomore year, not really sure if it was for me and if I actually wanted to be a traditional journalist. Fall semester of junior year, I took Digital Reporting with Ian Lenehan, where a percentage of our grade was writing two articles for TNH. The thought of this left a pit in my stomach.
I had taken 21st Century Journalism and News Writing, and nothing had really given me that sense of passion for the work I was writing. The first piece I wrote for TNH was a profile on current Governor, Kelly Ayotte, where I cold-called dozens of politicians across the state. I knew for sure that I did not want to report on politics. Yet, now here I am closing out my last semester at TNH having heavily covered the ‘campus carry’ bill as well as other political issues across New Hampshire.
I was a Contributing Writer for TNH my junior year, and finally became a Staff Writer this year. The articles I have written over the last couple of years for TNH have helped me grow immensely as an interviewer and reporter, and as a person in the UNH community. Part of why I enjoy being a student journalist is how informed I am about campus issues, and how involved I get to be in the way that many UNH students receive news of these issues.
Going into college, my dad told me, “Don’t go into a career for the money. Pick a major you love and work hard. The money will come.” That was the best advice I could have received. And now here I am, incredibly excited to continue my reporting beyond the UNH campus.
Looking back at my time at TNH, I wish I had stuck with it from the first meeting I attended freshman year, but I really would not change anything else about my journey as a student journalist. It’s baffling to me that I am sitting here right now, writing my senior farewell for TNH. I’ll never interview another UNH student or staff member, conveniently at The Works again, just so I can get a strawberry-banana smoothie.
Overall, I am so grateful for the TNH community, all of my UNH Journalism professors, and the people and stories I got to dive into throughout my time here. Writing for The New Hampshire made me feel more connected and at home at UNH, and I am so excited to see what the next step in my journalism journey holds!
