Mission Statement

What I want to get out of the UofO journalism department: I want to become a more concise and accurate writer. I feel like I have a difficult time getting my thoughts turned into words that others will understand. It seems like my ideas are usualy good, but my writing tends to be unorganized and rambly, probably much like this blog post. I need to work on getting my ideas on paper to flow more smoothly. Another thing that I want to get out of the program is the ability to do research and become an expert on the subject quickly. I feel like I have improved over the years, but there is much to be learned. As a journalist, one of the goals to writing a piece is to convince the reader about whatever it is that you are writing about. I want to improve my "convincing skills," while writing and during conversations. While writing and trying to get others interested or involved in a subject, or to change their point of view, I need to focus on what other people think is important and see my argument from their eyes. These are all things that I hope to accomplish, or get better at, by the end of the year.

In five years I have no clue what I'll be doing. It may not have anything to do with journalism. Right now, I am pretty into bike racing and I am training to get onto a sponsored team. I would really love to race in Europe, or even just live in Europe. When I finish chasing the dream of being a bike racer, I would like to get into photojournalism. I have always been interested in photography, and I am taking a photojournalism class right now that I think will be very interesting. I don't really have an interest to write in a newspaper, but things always change and I wouldn't be opposed to trying it out.