# @msujschool on Facebook

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.facebook.com/1588490806402984/posts/10156076036213666
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/68589980-msujschool-facebook
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/a15a40bdb9.jpg
- **Posted:** 2018-10-26T12:04:00.000+00:00

## Caption

#Five4Friday time!

 Jason Ruff
B.A. Journalism (2017) & History (2018)
Director of Broadcasting and Media Relations, 
Odessa (TX) Jackalopes junior hockey team
 
Q: How did you choose MSU for J-School?
A: I had been aware of Michigan State for a while, my idol (Chicago Blackhawks TV announcer Pat Foley) went to school there. But it was after MSU won the 2007 national championship in hockey that I fully set my heart to go there. You see, the day they won the national championship was just a few days away from my birthday. To celebrate, my family took me to my favorite restaurant in South Haven (where we had our beach house). The place was fairly vacant and the waitress, who was a friend of ours, told us that Michigan State was playing for the national championship. We ate dinner at the bar and watched the MSU hockey team on the TV. The game went into the late stages, the Spartans tied it up midway through the third period, and then Justin Abdelkader scored the go-ahead goal with about 19 seconds left. For a family that had very little to cheer about hockey-wise since the mid-1990s, the joy and emotion we let out was raw and pure.  After watching MSU celebrate their historic win, we left for home. As we walked out of that restaurant, into the cold April night, I had made up my mind that I was going to go to Michigan State University and I was going to get involved with hockey. Two days later I turned 12.
 
Q: How did your J-School experience prepare you for your current position?
A: The best asset that Michigan State provides is simply the people. That's true with the School of Journalism as well. My experiences at the J-School here at Michigan State no doubt helped me become not only a better broadcaster, but also a good storyteller and it was the people that helped shape those experiences. One example is when I got to take a broadcasting class taught by Dan Dickerson (radio play-by-play voice of the Detroit Tigers). Learning from Dan the more nuanced areas of broadcasting and the ins and outs of the craft were critical in helping my development. Another was the Sports Journalism Classic. I cannot tell you what a great asset that is for students or how meaningful it was to meet so many prestigious alumni and professionals. It was at the Spartan Sports Journalism Classic that I met one of my mentors Matthew McConnell, announcer for the NHL's Arizona Coyotes. He and I became good friends and he helped mentor me as I started looking for jobs. We still talk to each other today and I am forever indebted to the Michigan State J-School and the Sports Journalism team for opening so many doors and giving me the opportunity to not only meet with but interact with so many industry professionals.
 
Q: How were you able to turn your passion into a career?
A: My passion has always been hockey (as anyone who has met me knows). So while at Michigan State I worked tirelessly to prepare myself for a career that somehow revolved around hockey. I got involved with the student radio station Impact 88.9 FM and hosted an award-winning college hockey podcast "Behind the Mask" for four years. I covered MSU hockey for the station and did broadcast work with the Big Ten Network Student U, and I worked with and was a frequent guest on "Current Sports with Al Martin". All of these opportunities gave me experiences that few people have coming out of college, and they helped put me in a position where I was hired about three months after I graduated.

Q: What were the challenges and rewards of being a double major? 
A: Being a double major is certainly a challenge; the course load is large, plus you have to handle two different subjects. But the reward, at least for me, was that I got to stay at MSU for another year. I got to interact with more professionals, and contribute to more shows like Jack Ebling's "Press Pass" or Al Martin's "Current Sports" and of course I got to see the beginning of the Danton Cole Era of Michigan State Hockey. When I finished my fourth year, I felt I wasn't ready to leave school. After my fifth year, I was ready. For any student thinking about getting a double major my advice would be pick a subject you are passionate about (in my case it was history) and once you commit to it... DO IT. The payoff will be larger and more far flung than just academics.
 
Q: What do you wish you had learned/done at MSU that you missed out on?
A: If I had to pick one, I kinda wish I could have done a study abroad. But honestly, I got everything I could have ever wanted out of my college experiences at MSU. The people, the memories, the good times, and the bad... I would not change a thing.

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## Tags

five4friday

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