Towards the end of the spring semester in 2014, which was my first semester attending Slippery Rock University, I remember my professor announcing that The Rocket newspaper was hiring. At first, I wasn’t really interested because I didn’t have any experience in journalism or had the desire to write for a newspaper. But when I heard him say there was a position offered that’s responsible for filming and editing videos, I was immediately hooked.
I applied to be the multimedia reporter because this position covered events on campus through video. Being a student that had a passion for video editing, this position as the multimedia reporter gave me the opportunity to use my filming and editing skills outside of the classroom and gain plenty of experience. Once I got the job, I was extremely excited to start working with the rest of the staff and felt like I was finally a part of something important at this school. The next year, I worked really hard on videos for The Rocket’s website and tried my best with making our videos something different and new for Slippery Rock students to view. That was something I really appreciated about my job, being able to take it in any direction I thought was necessary.
Throughout my two years being a part of this staff, I’ve made incredible friendships that I plan to continue after college. I’ve met a lot of people around campus just from approaching them and interviewing them as part of my job. One of my responsibilities as the multimedia reporter was taking care of “In The Quad” which is a portion of the opinion section where I had to ask Slippery Rock students what they thought of a certain topic. This for me was a challenge because typically, people don’t like being approached and being asked questions and having their picture taken. But doing this activity actually taught me a lot about other people in the world and taught me how to become a better communicator/reporter. I’ve actually even met some really inspiring and kind people from having to do this as part of my job.
Of course there were numerous times where I felt overwhelmed with having to cover so many events during the semesters. This job has its moments where you feel like taking a break. But that happens with anything you do. I’m glad I didn’t give up when times were tough. I stuck with it and now have many projects that I’m proud I had the chance to work on. I’ve met and interviewed a lot of interesting and incredible individuals who appreciated having their event covered and shared with the rest of the campus. I’ve even had the chance to meet some of the celebrities that have come to this campus such as Alice Tan Ridley, Jimmy Tatro, Hunter Hayes, and Emmanuel Hudson. These moments will forever be remembered and I am grateful that being the Multimedia Reporter has made me such a hard worker.
As I’ve stated while working in the office during the last few days of the semester, I’m going to miss being surrounded by my coworkers that I consider my good friends here at Slippery Rock. Not only have I made great friendships with my coworkers but we’ve all done our jobs very well and we’ve created a lot of amazing content during the past few semesters. Even though I’m sure people have heard me complain once or twice (maybe more), I’m still honestly going to miss working here for The Rocket. But I’ve learned a lot working as the multimedia reporter and I’m ready to take those skills that I’ve gained with me into the real world.
