Personal Narrative

My Story

At the end of my freshman year journalism class, I still hadn’t found my place in the newsroom. While observing most students fall into their newfound passions for yearbook designing, video editing, or live broadcasting, my “niche” in the newsroom was still unknown. 

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As we headed into one of the last projects of the year, I took a leap of faith when I approached my school’s special needs program’s bus driver for a quick interview. What could have seemingly been a mundane interview, turned into a meaningful conversation where I was able to reveal how he balances his two full-time jobs, fatherhood, and engaging with the students on his bus.

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This profile not only turned out to be my first byline on the website, but in passing waves with the bus driver and kind comments from community members, it provided me with my first taste of how journalism can connect communities through uplifting voices. 

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The following year, I joined the staff in a completely online setting. When pitch days turned into google forms and interviews into black boxes on a screen, it was difficult to find the connection I craved. However, as the year progressed, and I kept investigating and writing stories, I was able to use the common feeling of disconnection to connect the West community. When I turned conversations into writing, I showcased how the pandemic was taking a toll on athletes, shared how seasonal depression is impacting students, and dove into the impacts that the pandemic tied with social media would have on Generation Z. Although I was not physically in the newsroom, the space that journalism created for me to better understand my community and issues that resonated with me was evident. I found that my place in the newsroom was to create journalistic work that connects others and uplifts the West and Iowa City communities.