Months ago, when signing up for classes with our advisors,
it was highly recommended to take a discovery course. These courses are intended
to help students figure out what they wanted to major in and to find their
passions within their major. For the students that signed up for Journalism
199, we wanted to find out more about what types of writers we are and find our
passions. When Jean Garner came to speak to our class about Al Jazeera, she
taught us about more than just what she does every day; Garner made us think
about what types of writers we want to be, what drives that ambition, and why
we enjoy what we do.
Garner began her speech by telling our class about what she
does, what Al Jazeera does, and a little bit about her career. As she proceeded
to tell us all of these things, she singled students out and asked them
questions such as “Why we enjoyed writing? What gives you the drive to follow
these stories?” This made us consider what our passions in writing are. Whether
they had been a student that was singled out or not, every student in that room
questioned themselves for the answers to these questions.
Despite Garner asking me specifically why I enjoyed writing,
I still walked out of that classroom asking myself those questions. Why do I
enjoy journalism? Why does it keep my interest? I discovered the answers as I
was asking myself these things on my walk home; I enjoy finding the story,
interacting with others, and finding out their opinions about topics. I enjoy
researching different topics on a deeper level and developing a well-rounded
education on various different matters. Journalism allows me to discover things
I had not done before; and provides me with freedom of speech and on outlet to
fulfill my curiosity. Journalism describes me within my own terms what
describes you?
I thought it was really interesting how she asked us those questions too, because it did really make you think about why you are passionate about the field you're studying. Did you get the sense from Garner that she is truly passionate about the work she does with Al Jazeera? What led you to arrive at this believe? How does your passion for journalism differ from what you see to be her's?
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I was sick the day Garner visited our class so I missed out on the learning experience. However, I totally agree with you that each of us signed up for this course in hopes of discovering our passion. And while I have come to the realization that I do not intend to major in journalism, the lessons and skills I have acquired through out this semester have opened many other doors for me.
ReplyDeleteI did get that sense Chrissy; she seemed very dedicated and passionate about her work. The way that she talked about her job and the people it led her to working with just showed how much she enjoyed it. I am still a little hazy on why I want to pursue journalism but more and more it is because I enjoy working wth people. I also strongly enjoy politics and agricultural writing so we will see where that takes me.
ReplyDeleteNina, I am still trying to figure things like that out as well. We still have time to figure things out, we have a couple years to really narrow it down. (:
ReplyDeleteRecently, until I came here to the U of I, I thought I was certain that I wanted to be a journalist. And now, I'm not so sure. When I did see journalism as my only avenue, I knew I loved it for the telling of personal stories, revealing the subject, and gaining a new sense of perspective from a wide variety of individuals. Now, I'm trying to see how I can further apply that passion, as more than just some kid with high school journalism experience.
ReplyDeleteLike I said earlier, I think we are all still trying to find out exactly what we want to do with our future careers. Luckaliy for us, the world we live in now consists of people having multiple careers in their lifetime. (:
ReplyDeletei really enjoyed the q&a portion of the talk as well. I could tell that Garner was an excellent journalist just by the quality of her questions and the spontaneous manner in which she asked them. The talk also left me questioning what I wanted to pursue as a career and whether journalism was right for me. In what ways did Garner change your perception of the field of journalism? Do you think global politics is something you want to go into?
ReplyDelete