May 25, 2011
Bye for now, Student Media
Today was a very bittersweet day for me. Today was perhaps, if not the last, one of the last days, that I will spend at the Office of Student Media until I get back from England in December. Even then I probably won’t visit until January sometime. Although the office is new (we only moved-in in February) it was hard for me to say goodbye.
I packed up my belongings, not too many, just a few decorative pieces, and cleaned up my area. It was difficult removing the little paper cutouts my friend and C2M videographer Alicia gave me when we moved-in. It was hard to go through my drawer and look at all the notes I had written. Although the office is new, Student Media isn’t and it has been my home for a long time.
Student Media saved me in a lot of ways. I suppose that sounds sort of odd, but it’s the truth. When I first came to college I lived a typical commuter-student life. I took a few night classes, made some friends and got the hell off of campus as soon as class ended. I didn’t feel very fulfilled that first semester. But during my second semester as a freshman I made one of the best decisions of my life and I signed up for the COMM 145 Newspaper Workshop class.
COMM 145 gets your foot in the door at Student Media. It’s taught by Kathryn Mangus, the director of Student Media, who is an absolutely amazing woman and journalist who knows the media like the back of her hand. The class teaches students how to write journalistically while also briefing them on media law, libel and other points of interest. The class may be, in my opinion, the most beneficial Communication class offered at Mason despite it only being worth one credit. In fact, if I were running the Communication Department I would make it a requirement for all journalism-concentration students. That class truly reignited a great passion for journalism in my heart.
I had been involved in my high school’s newspaper The Valkyrie for three years, but when I came to college I took a break from journalism. That was a mistake.
Journalism and I have a love-hate relationship, but I think that is the case with almost all journalists. It’s a job that takes up a lot of your time, doesn’t really pay well and often makes you unpopular; but it is so rewarding. You meet so many wonderful people and you really get to know and understand how the world works on a lot of different levels.
So when I first came to college I wanted a break, I thought I needed to take a step back from all the interviews and work that journalism required, but I felt empty. I felt like I was just going through the motions of college. Wake up, homework, class, home.
But when I started the workshop class I was immediately able to write for Broadside, GMU’s student newspaper, and it was like a breath of fresh air! My career at Student Media had begun and it would take me on a long journey filled with great interviews, awkward ones, laughs, anxiety and not a lot of sleep–but most importantly on a journey of finding myself. And here I am over two years later about to take a big hiatus from it.
Yeah, I’m coming back, and when I come back I’m doing something really fun and actually being in charge. And yes, I’m not taking a break from journalism, I’ll likely have two journalism related internships completed when I get back, but it’s still difficult to say goodbye to Student Media. For all its unorganization, for all the crazy drama that goes down, I love that place. I’ve never felt as accepted, worthwhile and loved as I do when I’m at Student Media.
I don’t want to be someone who can’t move on from Student Media, though. I understand that after a while it’s time to get on with life and be a professional. As I read somewhere but can’t recall exactly where, student media is one of the only places where you get to be in charge and be adult-like and still have adults protect you. It’s definitely a sheltered environment in a lot of ways, but an essential step in becoming a journalist.
I’ve never understood how someone could consider themselves a journalist simply by having a journalism degree. Journalism is one of the only professions where there are really no qualifications, anyone can be a journalist if you play your cards right. The only thing is you need to be published somewhere. Showing someone a certificate saying that you studied journalism is great, but you need to show someone that you’ve worked in journalism (and understand the misery that goes into it). This is why Student Media is great, it allows for people to get involved with many different forms of media and get actual experience.
And in the midst of all my parting with Student Media angst, something funny happened. I checked-in to the office today on Foursquare and was named the mayor. I was named the mayor on my last day there, how ironic. Being the mayor doesn’t really mean a lot, it’s just Foursquare, and not even that many people check-in. There will probably be a new mayor tomorrow, but, I don’t know, it just seemed like a fitting way to leave.
Filed by yasmintadjdeh at May 25th, 2011 under Uncategorized
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