Nothing would make me happier professionally than to write for a living. I have had a passion for telling stories since the first grade, when I wrote a story for my teacher about the scary monsters under my bed (I slept on a bunk bed above my younger sister.)
My passion for telling stories and my desire to inform led me to pursue a career in journalism. I believe that the best stories in history are not those which are made up. They are the ones about people, for people. Good and bad. There are many things in the world scarier than bed-dwelling monsters. If I can be the person to tell the world about them, I’d consider my professional life a success.
In pursuit of this goal, I leapt into the world of student media when I began college at the University of St. Thomas in 2008. I served as a reporter and anchor for the University’s student-run newsmagazine, Campus Scope. I was promoted to Associate Producer of the show as a second-semester freshman.
In the fall of 2009, I transferred to St. Cloud State University to continue my broacast journalism education. I became actively involved at UTVS News, the student-run television news station on the St. Cloud State University campus. UTVS News is St. Cloud’s only local television station, serving nearly 35,000 households.
In addition, I am the President of the St. Cloud State University chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. SCSU SPJ has been named the Region 6 Chapter of the Year for the past two consecutive years. While I have only been President since the fall of 2010, I have worked to put on SPJ-sponsored events addressing investigative journalism practices, the safety of journalists reporting from war and effective storytelling since my start in the organization.
