In my sophomore year, I enrolled in nonfiction writing, as it was a prerequisite to writing for the school newspaper. It was also a complete drag. Analyzing readings, tasked with covering boring topics I didn't care for – no interview, or visual description could give life to an article about P.E. I would be crazy if I told you I enjoyed it. The first story I was assigned was a news story about the library remodel. Nothing's more fun than researching new books, tables and chairs right? Wrong. My journalism journey started off with a flop. In junior year, after overcoming the mind-numbing work in the prerequisite class. I finally made it, and quickly switched to podcasting, starting a series where I interviewed presidents about their clubs: behind the scenes, challenges, upcoming events and the nitty-gritty in between. Digital media became my specialty.

 

However, nearing the end of my first semester on Bark I hadn’t even written a real story… until I had a spark. I was not prepared for final exam week, when a text appeared from the Editor-in-Chief asking for someone to cover the school district board meeting happening that Tuesday -- the night before my Spanish test. I had no reason to cover it except for the fact I didn’t want to mindlessly go through flashcards. As I quietly entered a surprisingly crowded conference center with my laptop in my hand, I prepared to sit unassumingly in the back row. An elderly gentleman then approached and asked if I could sit next to him in the front. I still have no clue who he was, I guess he had some intuition because he brought me up to the front, and I felt like I was courtside at a basketball game. This was not some one-hour, bureaucratic, tick-the-box, approve the budget meeting; people started going OFF on the Board. Parents, teachers, students, and everyone in that room harshly criticizing trustees for their decision to co-locate two alternate-ed school campuses, putting together two bodies of students with polar-opposite needs. This was a school-politics firestorm. After the three-hour meeting adjourned, I beelined home and wrote an entire article on the event that same night. No dinner, no studying (which probably wasn't the best idea), but a newfound sense of enjoyment.  What transpired in that meeting that night that changed my perspective on this assignment? Was it first-hand testimonials of students concerned about the loss of their campus, their teachers, their learning? Was it the emotional pleas from parents, asking the Board to look beyond the budget overruns and see what will happen to the kids? Was it the board members, some of whom appeared stoic and unmoved? I felt energized by the room and needed to write something that captured anger, frustration, and sadness as well as the thoughtful arguments pro and con for the campus merger. I needed to articulate it in a way that brought the audience to the room on that night.