Self-Analytical Essay
As exemplified by my high-speed rail opinion piece, which is not part of my portfolio, my passion lies with high-speed rail. In the future, I see a high speed rail network stretching across the Great Lakes and Midwest region, even connecting to the Northeast Corridor. I want to be part of that change. The change that will bring actual internationally-defined high speed rail to the Midwest and the rest of the US. To get there, I am planning on obtaining a bachelor's in civil engineering to give me the knowledge and experience of infrastructure design, particularly when it comes to railways. After I graduate, I intend to pursue either of two graduate degrees: a masters in urban planning to thoroughly understand the human aspects of designing infrastructure, or a masters in business administration to learn how to set up a successful business model to invoke a sense of confidence in investors, private and public, and for such a railway to generate revenue for continued expansion and improvements.
The thing with large infrastructure projects is that they require money and coordination, and that requires communicating. Apparently when I was a kid, my parents thought I would be an extrovert the way I talked to people. As I grew older, however, I became more reserved and kept to myself more than not. Approaching and initiating a conversation with someone I don’t know was not something I was adept at and something that would cause feelings of anxiety.
Most of the challenges I have had during my journalism career have been communicating with others on my publication, which is something I am continuing to overcome. I have made progress, however, through interviewing. At the beginning of my journalism career, I had to approach people without prior communication for human interest pieces and other assignments. I also used this approach for my first major article, Back to Benthics, which required me to interview two teachers and students. I didn’t email any of them, I just approached them. Now, I tend to email beforehand, which helps ease some of the anxiety and awkwardness.
This isn’t to say that I don’t ask for an interview the old-fashioned way, however. Recently, I conducted four video interviews for reels asking students what their ideal Groundhog Day would be, if they were stuck in a continuous loop of that day. I found that to be a positive experience, as compared to interviewing for “Tailgating Troubles.” I walked around Pioneer High School’s (PHS) grounds during a University of Michigan football game versus Penn State. I was writing an article on the recent ban on RV tailgating on the grounds, why they were banned, and where the money from tailgating went since it was on school grounds. I had to approach tailgaters without prior contact because I didn’t know anyone who tailgated there and there wasn’t a database of contact information for tailgaters. Many of them turned me down, or the interviews were just awkward. I didn’t end up using any of those interviews for the article, and instead used an in-depth interview with an RV owner who used to park at PHS. This was in addition to the at-the-time Assistant Superintendent of Finance and Operations, but that interview was set up beforehand.
For the first time in all four years of high school, I generally don’t need to overthink approaching someone to ask for something to be done. I just do it. I still take time to approach someone in-person for an interview, but I have pulled off interviewing four people in a week without setting up the interview in advance. I don’t think that I would have been able to do that if I hadn’t been in journalism.
