Interlude: “If I Would‘ve Known What I Know Now”

By Cierra Mayes
Texas Metro News Writer

College. There is so much emphasis behind that one word. When I was in High School, my teachers would mention that word around me and I would instantly get anxious. My parents and I both knew I would go to college. It was just the thought of making it through those long four years. For the most part, I thought college would be a long four years until I realized I was in my senior year of college.

College had come and was about to go! I attended the University of North Texas in Denton, with a focus in Broadcast Journalism. In my adolescent years, I always dreamed of being on television or a media mogul. Being a role model and informing others about what’s going on in the world was very interesting to me. My first two years of school, I had taken all of my basics before stepping into my major. In order to get into my major, there was one requirement that I was not looking forward to. Anyone that wanted to be a journalism major was required to take a GSP test. The GSP test focused on grammar, spelling, and punctuation. If you failed the test more than three times, you would not be allowed to be a journalism major. Grammar, spelling, and punctuation is very important in journalism, of course. So, I prepared myself until the day it was time to take the test and I aced it. I had worried for nothing.

My junior year, I had entered my upper-level classes, and they were pretty interesting. I learned so much about the law and ethical side of journalism. However, I wanted to be more on the entertainment side of journalism. Entertainment news is more fun and interesting, especially when you have the chance to interact and network with people in the industry. I knew in order to reach this goal, I would need to get involved in organizations on campus that were related to the entertainment side of journalism. I joined “NTTV” also known as “North Texas Television.”

Due to a conflicting schedule, I wasn’t able to make the audition for the entertainment show I hoped to be on. Instead, I got involved with promotions and marketing for NTTV. I got to work with others and make creative content about ongoing issues on campus. Over the course of my years, I did not realize how important it was to find an internship. During the summer, I had taken classes and kept a job, but neither was for an internship. I knew that an internship would help me gain the experience I needed but only when it was my senior year. I didn’t know that I could complete an internship while in my junior year because I thought I needed more school experience and resume building. My senior year was the only time I gained “on-set” experience. I started to feel overwhelmed and as if I had waited too late to get an internship. I thought to myself, who would hire a senior in college who doesn’t have an almost-complete resume? I knew that someone had to hire me because no one starts in their career as professionals. I then thought about how I didn’t have anyone to guide me on what needed to be done during my early college years.

And now, here I am, post-graduation, working at Texas Metro News as an intern. I now believe that I wasn’t delayed on my career path. It was all on God’s plan to put me where I need to be at the right moment and time.