Grace Sullivan. Communication: Print and Digital Journalism

When I first came to Mississippi State University, journalism was nowhere in my head as a possible career path. I had my heart set on becoming an animal and dairy science major and later attending veterinary school. It was my dream for as long as I could remember. I always had a love of books and the art of writing but I never considered it as a career. I had a pivotal moment during the spring semester of my sophomore year about my career. I was no longer passionate about what I was pursuing and I was devastated.

Once I had this realization I knew I had to figure out what I wanted to do very quickly. I decided to figure out how I could turn my love for books into a career so I began searching through my options at MSU. I came across the print and digital journalism path and knew that I wanted to now pursue that. I also decided to pursue an English minor along with this just to give myself a little more towards my career. Changing to print and digital journalism was one of the best decisions I have ever made for myself and I truly love it.

I think what truly sold me on my concentration was the fact that it encompassed both print and digital journalism. I would be taught more than just journalism. I would learn other aspects that I had never considered before. This is something that has continued to make me love this concentration. I have learned many things I never thought I would learn such as photography and designing newspapers. I love that this print and digital journalism concentration has helped me grow in my skills as a writer as well as taught me new skills.

There were a few classes that I was worried about when choosing this concentration. Photo communication was one of these classes as I did not know anything about photography. At the beginning of the class, I quickly realized it would become one of my favorite classes I have taken. I learned the ins and outs of photography as well as techniques to give me an edge. My final project for this class is one that I will always love.

Our final project was a photo essay and besides a few rules, we were allowed to do it on anything. I chose to create my photo essay around the start-to-finish process of baking a homemade dessert. My mom loves to bake and often makes dessert from scratch so this seemed like a perfect opportunity. This project allowed me to grow closer to my mom as I got to photograph her doing something she loves and learn a little about baking during the process. I will always love and cherish that finished project and Professor Foreman for encouraging me to do what I did.

I have learned a lot in the past two years within print and digital journalism, including what I like and dislike. For instance, I learned that I truly do not enjoy video-related projects and classes. It is not something that is my strong suit or interests me enough to be willing to learn more about. However, I did learn that I enjoy photography a lot. I may not be the greatest out there but it is something that I find enjoyable and creative. I also learned that I truly enjoy writing in more ways than one. I have been taught so many different aspects of writing that it has become something I enjoy getting to do and take pride in.

When it comes to multimedia journalism, I hope to learn many things. I feel confident in my writing skills but there is always room for improvement. In the photography aspect I feel decent about what I can do and I feel confident this class can teach me new things about photography. That may be the thing I am most interested in learning during this class. Since video is something I do not know much about I know that this class will definitely teach me much about it which does interest me slightly.

Since I started out on a different path when I first came to MSU it took a while to figure out what exactly I wanted to do in my career once I graduated. Spending so much time down the pre-vet path my future career plans were always decided. I was going to get my undergraduate degree and head off to veterinary school. Naturally, it was difficult to shift those plans that I was certain about for so long. Changing to journalism certainly guided my plans but the possibilities were endless.

Since I will have journalism and English under my belt I have many different paths I can pursue post-grad. My advisor, along with several other faculty, have mentioned several times opportunities that I could have if I pursued journalism post-grad. I do have a slight worry that journalism would not provide enough for me if that is what I decided to do. I know that starting out I obviously would not make enough. I am not sure that just working my way up to eventually make what I need would be worth the risk of losing the passion for writing.

While I do enjoy writing, my current career plans are not to pursue journalism. I am choosing to take a slightly different path than journalism while still utilizing my degree. Since I have such a love of books and the process of how they are published that is the career path I am hoping to go down. Through extensive research I have decided to apply to internships at various publishing houses post-grad. I hope that after interning I will find a permanent job at a publishing house, specifically the editorial department.

Email me at mgs393@msstate.edu with any questions.