Career Day--So Worth It

Today Mr. Weaver, Leanne, and I went to the West Pacs Arts Career Day at Grove City College. It was more beneficial than I thought it would be. There were some great speakers, like the founder of Sports Illustrated TV Ted Shaker and KDKA Traffic Reporter Jim Lokey.

But the person I got the most out of was Scott Baker, former WTAE anchor and co-founder of soon-to-launch breitbart.tv. Scott had a lot to say on citizen journalism, my topic for the National Conference on Undergraduate Research . He is on the cutting edge of news. He and his co-founder Liz Stephans are launching an interacting website for news (breitbart.tv). It sounds incredibly interesting and really re-iterated what I’ve been thinking lately—that I need to seriously consider internet positions in my job search. Whether that be at a cutting edge site like that one, or as an internet reporter for an established station. I’m not in this for the fame (and clearly not the fortune) so I don’t care if it’s “just” for the internet because that’s where it’s going and where there's opportunities and I want to be a part of it.

Mr. Weaver always says we don't hear advice when they come from him, so he tries to get professionals to tell us the same things so we actually listen. I think he's right. Ted Shaker said something I’ve heard a thousand times but really connected with today. He said to not be afraid to just make a choice when it comes to taking a job because these days no one has lifetime careers. Make the decision on something you can stand to do for now. Don’t think of it as a lifetime commitment.

Then one of the other professionals said something else that hit with me. Don’t wait for the stars to align and for everything to feel right for you to make your move, in whatever you’re doing. In this business especially, you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

Basically, it’s all about taking risks. Be a risk taker. Just dive right in—and hopefully there’s some water underneath.