MY STORIES:

• Catholic Community Services helps refugees in Utah
• Eunice Jones: hard work changes life from rags to riches
• Chinese New Year celebrations in Utah bring out many family traditions
• Master Lu’s Health Center: Northern-style Kung Fu and Old Yang-style Tai Chi

MY BLOG:

When Professor Mangun told our class we would be covering the Asian- American beat for the entire semester, I was more than a little worried. I had no ties to the Asian-American community in Salt Lake City and realized very quickly that this semester was going to be a lot of hard work.

At the beginning of the semester it was hard to think of story ideas to look into within the Asian-American community. But as I got more familiar with the community, the stories were easier to come by. However, executing these story ideas often became more and more difficult. I quickly learned that journalists are really at the mercy of their sources, often leading me to have to come up with a plan B. I also learned that almost everyone has a story they would like to share, if only given the chance to do so. I have met several amazing people whose life stories will stay with me forever. Their strong, optimistic attitudes have inspired me to try looking for the positive view even when the situation displays none.

I learned a lot about Salt Lake City’s Asian-American community from covering this beat. I learned that it is a very strong community that is stitched together by different organizations, offices and strong leaders. I also learned about different nonprofit organizations that help Asian refugees and their families once they move to Salt Lake City.

Although this semester was a lot of work, I am happy that I got the chance to go outside my comfort zone and learn from people I would not have met otherwise.

ABOUT ME:

I am a sophomore at the University of Utah, expecting to graduate Spring 2013 with a degree in mass communication with a focus in journalism. I have always enjoyed reading books and newspapers, which led me in my choice to study journalism for an undergraduate degree. I hope to one day have a job that deals with law, maybe by covering law in a beat or becoming a lawyer.

Filed under: Blogs & Bios, Student-Journalists |