The short version is that I love sweet tea, rock ‘n’ roll and the Dawgs. The long version is, well, a bit longer. As a child, I didn’t want to be a journalist; I simply wanted to be like the men and women I saw on Sportscenter everyday. So much so that I would make up storylines for the sports video games I was playing and gave fake interviews to the players. That was my way of acting on my passion both for sports as well as what I now know to be journalism.

But it wasn’t until my senior year of high school when I realized that journalism, or at least a job in communications, was the path for me. I took a non-fiction language arts class and that’s when I realized that life isn’t all about imagery and metaphors and all that other fancy stuff. People can actually make a living talking and writing about real stories, which is when I realized that’s what my idols on Sportscenter were doing.

I love journalism because its core values are inside each and every one of us. Journalism seeks to find the truth, provide a voice for the voiceless, hold those in power accountable, be fair to others and so much more. It’s about telling the stories that everyone needs to hear. It’s the foundation of our democracy and it is needed now more than ever.