Unlike many of my colleagues here at The Slate, I am not a communication, journalism and media major. When I walk the stage next Saturday, I will be receiving a degree in political science (well, an empty folder with an IOU for one).

I have never been certain of what my future holds. In high school, I attended Franklin County Career and Technology Center for culinary arts. I wanted to be a chef. After working in a restaurant for a few months, I knew that was not for me. 

When I entered college, I had a vague idea of working in Harrisburg or Washington, D.C. Whether as a Congressional staffer, lobbyist, consultant — I did not know specifics, but that was the gist.

I definitely had no intention of being a journalist. Yet here we are.

My first experience with The Slate was as a guest contributor. I had read an opinion piece from a staff contributor that I disagreed with so passionatedly that I felt I had to respond. 

I submitted my response, and it got published. I did not know it at the time, but that would be the start of a journey. 

I kept writing. Sporadically at first; just a guest contribution here and there. But then I joined as a staff member. I started writing more. Every week, I was writing an article, if not multiple. I branched out of the opinion section and started covering news, campus events and more.

During that time, I was approached by The Slate’s management. They encouraged me to apply to be an editor. I was hesitant at first and declined for a long time. I knew that editors were responsible for designing page layouts in InDesign, a program with which I had zero experience.

Yet the encouragement persisted. Elizabeth Peters, the editor-in-chief at the time, gave me an offer: I would be promoted to assistant news editor and she would help with InDesign. I edited stories and found things to cover, and she handled layouts.

Over time, I begrudgingly learned how to find my way around the terrifying labyrinth that is Adobe InDesign. I am no expert, but I have learned how to do the layouts myself and have been able to help my colleagues with their own InDesign-induced headaches. 

Later that year, I was promoted to News Editor. Since then, the amount of time I have dedicated to The Slate seems to grow exponentially.

Last year, I added a CJM minor to my degree. I took Basic News Reporting with Professor Witmer. I took Media Law with Professor Lohrey. I learned that PR was not my forte.

Over the last few months, my job searches have looked much more like “journalist” than “congressional staffer.”

That is not to say that I am abandoning my political science major or history minor. I remain passionate about both subjects, as anyone who has met me in person or read the opinion section of The Slate can attest. 

But I have found a new passion that in my view, compliments both of those fields — journalism. 

For a while now, my answer to the everpresent question “what is your plan after college?” has been “something in politics that deals with media or something in media that deals with politics.”

That remains true, but I am evermore leaning to the latter. 

At The Slate, I have had the opportunity to cover breaking stories, interview Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and to turn all the boring meetings that no one attends into news. 

Those meetings very rarely get the attention they deserve, both from the public and the media. But in my role, I have been able to be exceedingly annoying for SGA and university administration.

I cannot overstate how much The Slate means to me. It is not just another student group or club.  

The Slate is an institution. It is a body that demands accountability from SGA and the university. It is a group of people devoted to the truth.

I am so glad to have had the opportunity to contribute to that mission. It has changed my life in so many amazing ways. 

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