# @msujschool on Facebook - **Type:** Image - **Original URL:** https://www.facebook.com/1588490806402984/posts/10156076048158666 - **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/68589975-msujschool-facebook - **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/9817238588.jpg - **Posted:** 2018-11-02T12:12:00.000+00:00 ## Caption #Five4Friday time! Emily LaForme B.A. (2017) Reporter, The Lebanon Enterprise, Lebanon, KY Q: How did your J-School experience prepare you? A: J-School definitely helped prepare me for my career, whether I was always aware of it or not. The classes are small and diverse, and a lot of times we worked as small news teams or together on projects, so it really helped me learn that a lot of the news world is doing your job and meeting your own responsibilities so that you aren’t letting your team/partners/media outlet down as well. I work for a small paper so everything we do is dependent on others, and vice versa, so this is a culture that reminds me very much of my start when I was covering local news with my J-School team. A big part of my career revolves around people, and J-School taught me how to work with people and cover people, and believe me, that’s a big part of journalism. Q: What do you love about your current position? A: I love my job because I cover everything, except sports, which means every single day is not like the one before it. I wake up each morning not knowing exactly where the day will take me or when I will be home for sure, but that’s exciting to me, and a bit addictive. Specifically, feature stories are my favorite part of my job, mainly because I don’t know of many other jobs that allow you to sit in a stranger’s home and have very deep, often personal conversations without having to build years of trust beforehand, like I do. Somehow, these people trust me to have conversations that sometimes they don’t even have with those closest to them, yet they trust me to tell their story and share it with the rest of the world. It’s a very big deal to me to have that trust with the people I feature. Q: Students in the MI First Election team will be covering the elections next week. How was your experience with MI First Election 2016? A: I say this very seriously when I say that being a part of MI First Election 2016 is what defined my career as a J-School student and as a journalist today. What a time to be student journalist! Not only were we covering a major historic election, but we were also the first to work out of the newsroom downstairs, and working in that newsroom all of election day and night was nothing short of thrilling. I worked from the early morning until the results were in and a little bit after. I was at the polls all over MSU and surrounding communities, watch parties, up in the radio studio, and writing, writing, writing. Really, the whole semester was exciting, I covered both the local and national elections all semester long, political rallies, debates, protests, and it’s a huge learning experience that you really just need to just throw yourself into. You will learn lots, meet tons of people, and become very bonded with your fellow classmates. I’m very excited for the MI First Election team this year, and you all are going to have a great time on Election Day! Q: What do you miss most about Michigan? A: I’m a military brat that was born in Kentucky, and I have lived here throughout my life, but I also have strong roots in Michigan and it’s where my family is from and where I was primarily raised. It was always my dream to attend Michigan State University and to become a journalist, which is something I achieved. I miss my friends and family I left behind in Michigan (and fall semesters at MSU), but returning to Kentucky always felt like a natural next step and I haven’t regretted it once since I came home. Thankfully social media keeps me linked to everyone I left behind, so that definitely helps. Q: What advice do you have for current JRN students? A: My advice for current JRN students would to build a network amongst yourselves and other professionals you come across. I job shadowed and asked for advice from older students and J-School graduates, but I also made a point to really connect with my fellow classmates, because you all are assets to each other and it’s good to just know people in the industry, period. I also suggest you jump on as many internships as you can, and you ask lots and lots of questions! This industry can be intimidating, but truly people like to help others and feel helpful, so ask for help or advice, and I guarantee you that someone will want to help in any way that they can, or at least can point you in the direction of someone else who can. I also find that J-School alumni are seriously tight with each other and have a deep love for the current students, so you’re never truly going at it alone. With that said, feel free to connect with me through Facebook and good luck! Go Green! ## Stats - **Views:** 0 - **Likes:** 8 - **Shares:** 2 - **Comments:** 5 ## Tags five4friday --- Copyright (c) Gondola