As a student, try as much stuff as possible
On May 29, I made quite possibly the biggest change of my life so far. I started my first job.
I was lucky enough to get an offer from the Sacramento Business Journal to be their lead designer and I was thrilled to accept. Having a definite location and future coming after graduation did a lot to quell some of the anxiety and fear I had about the impending ceremony.
Walking into the office the first day was surreal. It was a little terrifying when I realized this was essentially the beginning of the rest of my life. Careers aren’t just four years the way that high school and college was. Careers are 40 years. Or more. So that’s a bit of a shift.
The business journal is on the second floor of a fifteen floor building right on Capitol Mall in downtown Sacramento. The first two weeks were full of design training videos, figuring out how to use their content management system and three days of training with the senior design manager from American City Business Journal’s (the company that owns SBJ) corporate offices.
It’s thrilling to realize that I get to be a professional news designer. Knowing that this no longer has to be an extracurricular activity but can be something that I dedicate more time, energy and excitement toward is what I’ve been looking forward to ever since I realized that I wanted to go into journalism.
But as my final semester at Elon wound down, I realized that I could have taken better advantage of my time as a student. Post-spring break, Elon News Network (Elon’s student-run news organization) had staff turnover, so seniors were no longer in leadership positions. So, I was no longer in charge of the design team. For the first time in three years, I wasn’t thinking about the design of the front page from week to week, nor was I sitting in exec meetings contemplating the best workflow for the organization. In this time, here’s what I learned:
Do everything. Do as much of everything as you can.
Students have the opportunity to fail and are given much more grace when they do. I spent a lot of my time at ENN focusing mainly on print design. I did the front page every week for three years, redesigned our newspaper and wrote blog post after blog post and tweet after tweet about printed pages. And I loved it. I still do. But my senior year, I wrote a few articles, started taking photos and learned to code websites. And I learned that I really enjoyed doing all of those things too.
Our news organization also had the opportunity to anchor the news for our online exclusives, and I had always laughed it off. And then I anchored. I loved it. I anchored again, started doing live teasers for the paper on our show and also reported on the weather.
But I’m (probably) not going to get the chance to ever anchor again. And I’ll (probably) never report on the weather. My chances to have my photos or articles run in a newspaper are also slimmer, simply because professional organizations have professionals with much more experience than I do. And they’re more apt to have people focus and develop in their own roles.
So in the time that you’re a college student, don’t shy away from trying something new. If you’ve been thinking about writing that column, learning to copy edit or editing video, do it. You might not get the chance again (at least not in the same way) after you graduate.
Submerge yourself in your field
You may not know exactly what you plan on doing after you graduate. But if you know the general track, whether it be design, writing, mathematics etc., take the time to research, read and stay up-to-date on it. Learn who the important people are and follow them on social media. For me, I quickly started following as many designers from The New York Times, The Washington Post, WIRED, Politico, The Globe and Mail etc.
Following these people often means a sneak peek at the Capitals’ special section before it hits stands, or getting to watch a behind-the-scenes video from The New York Times Magazine about how they made their cover.
These things not only provide valuable design insight, but also remind me that all of these incredibly talented designers are people too with varied interests. And knowing that the people you hope to be like someday are just as regular as everyone else is a nice reminder that dreams are achievable.
Attend events, go to conferences, meet people and seek feedback
This isn’t just because networking helps students land jobs. This is so much more about finding professionals who can critique and offer feedback on work so you can improve.
Being a student is all about getting better. It’s about learning and growing and feeding off the critique offered by professors and advisers. And if possible, it’s always a rewarding experience to hear from people who are currently working in journalism, even if they’re not specifically news designers.
Some of my favorite memories come from the 2015 ACP/CMA conference in Austin, Texas and the 2016 ACP conference in D.C. It was during these trips I realized I was passionate about journalism. I attended sessions on how to use fonts, how Appalachian State redesigned their newspaper and listened to Michael Koretzky rip apart bland news pages and design them in a more interesting way. And it was at these conferences that I got involved with SND, which led to me going to the SND conference in NYC this past year. These are incredible opportunities to get your work critiqued by people from The Washington Post, Time Magazine, ProPublica and more.
And back on campus, everyone talks about how important it is to engage in the events that colleges and universities put on for its students. It’s true. I know I’ve missed talks from Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalists and producers at CNN. I’ve seen but been too afraid of talking to New York Times photographers and reporters at news stations from around the country.
All of these people, whether specifically news designers or not have current, hands-on knowledge of what it’s like working in news. They can provide sharp insight into your work and are generally excited to be asked — otherwise they wouldn’t have come to the school. So ask questions and seek critique. That’s how you learn and get that much closer to being a professional yourself.
Having to wear the title of “young professional” now instead of “college student” is pretty weird. But it‘s exciting to realize that yes, it turned out it was possible to get a job in journalism, doing something I love.
I know the transition couldn’t have been done without the forgiveness, opportunity and encouragement I received along the way because I was a student. As a student you’re allowed to fail. The whole point is to try new things and discover what works and what doesn’t. And if you’re anything like me, that means a whole lot of trial and error.
Take advantage of that student badge and wear it proudly. Be excited to write that article, even if it isn’t award-winning work. Try your hand at shooting some B-roll or putting together a VOSOT, even if you’ve never touched Adobe Premiere Pro before.
Have fun. Try everything. Learn a new skill. Step out of your comfort zone. Wear your student badge proudly. Make it worthwhile.
