Who Said We Can’t?

            I am just a normal international student who is obsessed with math and science. However, there’s more to me than just numbers. What makes me special? Aside from the countless activities I have been involved in, I am also proud to call myself a student journalist.       

My story with Herald started with a bold leap. After I read couple Herald newspapers, I wanted to see if there was any chance I could write for them. I talked to my composition professor Dr. Larry Bonds, and he recommended that I talk to Herald student editor Jorge Ambacher. In the email I sent to Ambacher, I wrote, “Our international students had a meeting this Monday. It gave me an idea to write an article so fellow War Hawks can hear our voice.” I wanted our campus to hear the international students’ voice, and I personally completed something meaningful before celebrating my 20^th birthday.

 Nevertheless, I was ready to be rejected respectfully because it is a risk to let someone whose first language is not English and seldom experience in journalism into the school newspaper. But, I was accepted and encouraged to do so. That acceptance meant a lot to me.

I didn’t know how to interview people, so I started with interviewing my friends. I didn’t know how to quote, so Ambacher taught me the journalism format and style. I didn’t have perfect grammar, so I brought my draft to the AEC tutors, to Ms. Beth Laurence, and to Dr. Bonds for corrections. My first article was published on December 4^th, 2017. Since then, I accepted the offer of becoming a student writer for Herald. It was a new adventure, and I thank myself for stepping out my comfort zone.

This is my 30^th article. The past articles have covered all kinds of topics, such as school trips, play reviews, orientation, convocation, and even a personal narrative. I was given the freedom of writing articles and the trust of being a messenger of students’ voice. I started falling in love with communicating with people through interviews, share their stories with more people, and making new friends.

I strive to provide the most student life related articles with high quality to all the readers. Sometimes I worried that my articles had grammar errors due to my English writing habits. However, multiple people came up to me and told me that they enjoyed reading my articles and how my writing was improving. The motivation people gave me early on really motivated me to look for different subjects to write about and to interview more strangers. With less fear, I wrote two articles for one of the most important campus event—convocation. My article about McMurry’s 96th Convocation was also published in HispanicLife Magazine, an accomplishment that I hold dearly. Finally, I realized that my growth and progress as a writer qualified me as a competent student journalist.

What is the most important qualities of becoming a student journalist besides ethics? I think it is passion. It is the desire of writing to report, to share positivity, and to let more voices be heard. You don’t have to be an elite journalist to write journalism. But you can become a journalist if you practice and grow in your writing and communication skills. Who said you can’t?