Edit Desk: How I found journalism

When I open my phone at the start of the day, I immediately look for an email from my dad. On his daily commute into the city for work, he browses through The New York Times and sends me articles he finds interesting on that particular day.

Sometimes the articles are about current events, other times about business and politics, and sometimes I find myself getting emotional over the ones from the modern love section.

He’ll usually attach the link with his thoughts on the piece, and will forward it to the rest of my family so we can all share our own opinions. He started sending them when I was in high school, and we often discussed the articles at length during dinner. Now, we discuss the day’s news each night when I call him.

The article may not cover a topic that speaks to me directly, but he will send one regardless, just if he believes it’s a particularly strong piece of writing. He points out the strengths of the different styles and etiquettes, and then wants me to comment on them as well. His tireless efforts to get me to read about what is going on in the world worked, and undoubtedly sparked my interest in journalism.

In high school, I was overwhelmed by the number of extracurricular activities that were made available to all students. Uncertain about where to turn and knowing that a well-rounded resume would not only satisfy my curiosity, but also be looked at favorably in the eyes of the college admissions boards, I found myself gravitating toward my high school’s sports magazine, The Quake.

My first journalistic experience taught me many valuable lessons. I learned how to be committed to a group of people, be collaborative and improve my writing and editing skills.

It was a funny thing that I joined the sports magazine, as someone who doesn’t necessarily know much about sports. I played tennis and lacrosse in high school, but never thought of myself as someone who would be informing others about game scores, athletes, and injuries.

I stayed on The Quake throughout high school. I came to enjoy sports writing and gained more knowledge about the sports I was covering.

When I arrived at Lehigh, I was naturally drawn to The Brown and White. However, this time no one was telling me to be well-rounded. In fact, I was told the exact opposite. Because I am majoring in finance and marketing, my professors urged me to get involved with clubs and activities that were strictly business related. I understood why they offered this advice but still felt passionate about joining the paper, so I did.

The majority of The Brown and White staff consists of journalism and communications students. When I applied for the position, I was asked why I wanted to be part of the paper. Considering my academic focus, it was a good question. I talked about my experience on The Quake, and how I enjoyed writing for the paper and wanted to continue to do so. I also felt the importance of being involved on campus while getting to know students outside my major.

Ironically, I was placed in the sports section. Whether I knew much about them or not, it seemed like sports were following me, or I was following sports; so I wasn’t going to fight it.

One thing I’ve learned is there more to the The Brown and White besides writing, editing, and publishing articles. It is about teaming up and working with others, looking at issues from different perspectives and being informed and informing others about what is going on in today’s world.

We live in a time of information overload and it is important to not only be properly informed but to also have a voice as well. The Brown and White offers me the opportunity to do both. I love being part of an organization that works to uncover the truth and is accountable for what they publish.

Perhaps one day a parent will forward a thought-provoking article to their child and the byline will have my name on it. And just maybe, it won’t even be about sports.

Julia Blauner, ’21, is an associate sports editor for The Brown and White. She can be reached at [email protected].