MY STORY:

The importance of student organizations at the University of Utah

MY BLOG:

My enterprise story started out as a profile of a specific club at the University of Utah. However, my attempts to contact the president and vice president of the club failed. I shifted my focus to another club, but I did not receive any responses from that organization either. I tried to reach out to the associate director of student leadership and involvement so I could interview a member of the administration, but I did not hear back from them. I was not expecting contacting sources to be the most difficult aspect.

I finally received an email from Josh Olszewski, the student organizations coordinator, who had been sent my interview request by the other administrator. It was at this point that I decided to make my story about the importance of clubs at the university.

In our interview, Olszewski pointed me in the direction of the Women’s Outdoor Leadership Initiative and the University of Utah Beekeepers Association. Olszewski said these clubs were good representatives to contact. I managed to get in contact with the presidents, Emma Taylor and Amalia Friess respectively, and I interviewed them.

Amalia Friess invited me to observe a club meeting right after our interview. While the information from that meeting did not fit my story, I was personally interested in it. I enjoyed the meeting, and I hope to be able to attend some hive inspections with the club in the spring.

Once I began to write my story, I discovered that my story could only be as good as the interviews that built it. I found that my last interview provided me with the most useable information because I had practiced my interviewing skills twice by then. I combed through my recordings of the interviews and focused on the quotes and information that seemed the most impactful to me. I built my story around that information, and it led to the most natural and engaging result.

ABOUT ME:

I am a full-time student at the University of Utah, and I aim to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in communication in 2024. I am an aspiring journalist, musician, and lyricist. I grew up in a house filled with classic rock from my dad and classical from my mom. My mom taught me to play the piano when I was growing up, but I switched to guitar so I could play the rock music I loved. I have been playing guitar for over eight years.

Music plays a major role in my life and interests, including journalism. I hope to be able to make a living writing about the art I love. Being able to interview and write about artists, especially the guitarists I idolize, is my dream career.