My time at Arkansas State University is coming to an end, and looking back, I cannot imagine spending the last three years at any other college. 

If you had told me when I was graduating high school that in just three years I would be graduating from college with a portfolio full of published stories, I would have laughed in your face. But now that graduation is quickly approaching, it doesn’t seem so funny anymore. 

Coming to A-State was not my first choice. I didn’t even know it existed before my junior year in high school, much less that they had a multimedia journalism degree. When I discovered that they were one of the only public colleges in the state offering the exact degree I was looking for, I knew it was the place I wanted to go. 

When I moved in on that hot August day, freshman year, I didn’t know a single person, and while it scared me, a horribly introverted individual, I knew it was an opportunity to branch out and “try new things” (like being talkative).  It only took a couple of weeks until I met some of my closest friends, who I know will be in my life for a long time. 

“Trying new things” also included writing articles for the first time. While I knew I wanted to write for a newspaper or a magazine, I hadn’t written for anything other than my high school’s yearbook before. Those first few articles and profiles I wrote for different class assignments were terrible and should never see the light of day. 

What really helped my writing, though, was submitting stories to The Herald, then becoming a staff writer and now being the editor of the Arts & Entertainment and Life pages. 

Yes, writing stories for class and receiving feedback from professors also helped my writing skills, but getting to write stories I actually enjoyed was a huge booster. 

Being an editor at The Herald also helped me add so many more stories to my portfolio. So when I start applying for jobs and have to send my portfolio, I feel comfortable sending it to them and confident that I can get the job. 

But my time at A-State hasn’t been all amazing, there have been a few downsides. I got way too involved my sophomore year and was constantly overwhelmed by everything people in the clubs and my classes were asking of me.

The media program was not quite what I expected. At the end of my freshman year, they got rid of my major entirely. Although I didn’t know what that meant for me specifically, there were professors, like Dr. Ron Sitton, who made me feel like the program would be just fine.  Luckily the program was revamped and the major, although under a different name, was brought back. 

While there are a number of cons, they are outweighed by the friends, experiences and everything else that happened during my time at A-State.

Categories: Opinion