Confidently Successful

The life of a journalism student at UF is challenging. I find myself spending countless hours in the newsroom improving my craft and creating content for WUFT . One of my favorite things about the program is the immersion experiences. My sophomore year, I started working for ESPN Gainesville WRUF as a radio anchor and multimedia sports journalist. Every Friday night I would travel to local high school football games writing articles and shooting video for the First at Five show. Eventually, I had the opportunity to serve as the beat reporter for the Florida basketball and gymnastics teams. I was responsible for attending every home game/meet and providing live and pre-recorded content for our target audience on multimedia platforms .  My love for journalism and content creation only grew as I gained more experience. This past spring break, I had the opportunity to be in Barcelona during the most recent Clásico. While the match was in Madrid, I interviewed locals about the cult

Malcolm Gladwell's The Tipping Point "is a biography of an idea," (pg. 7). It dives into the compelling phenomenon of how certain trends catch on and gain so much prevalence, while others do not. As Gladwell says, "ideas and products and messages and behaviors spread just like viruses do," (pg. 7). Furthermore, the book explains how products and ideas reach such prominence within society. Gladwell provides an in-depth analysis of how these specific trends gain so much attraction as he categorizes his "Three Epidemics" into agents of change: the Law of Few, the Stickiness Factor and the Power of Context.  The Law Few is straight-forward. Products and ideas gain national or global attention because of a few celebrities or influencers partake or use the product or idea. As Gladwell explains, these icons are either Connectors, Mavens or Salesmen. This was a very informative section. I especially appreciated his section of Connectors. As the autho

It is always wonderful to see a fellow woman in sports media breaking the glass ceiling. As someone who is pursuing a career as a sports reporter, I appreciate the love and support I receive from my female peers. Kara Spierto , Sydney Jones and Rachel West are incredible #girlboss sports reporters who I have had the pleasure to work with over the past few years. Kara had the opportunity to work for CBS during the most recent Super Bowl in Atlanta. She always has a positive personality and is such a go-getter. Sydney loves football as she also worked at the Super Bowl and served as the ESPN Gainesville beat reporter for the various teams such as Florida football and baseball . I worked with Rachel last semester for the Monday sports edition of the WUFT First at Five show. She is currently in down in Tampa interning for the Rays . So excited to stay in touch with these women after graduation and I cannot wait to see them tackle their next adventure!

UF is a competitive university and everyone wants to succeed. The College of Journalism and Communications is internationally known for the top-notch students it produces in particular. Because of this, there are stellar students who demonstrate a strong work ethic. Peers like Tessa Bentulan , Lauren Staff  and Abby Murphy  have dedicated their college experience to seizing every opportunity they can to grow and learn. I have had the opportunity to work with Tessa during some of my TV2 shifts this semester and she is so much for to work with. You can check out her most recent reporter reel here . I have known Lauren for over two years and she's always doing the most! Lauren worked in the communications department for various Florida Gators teams throughout her college years. I had the opportunity to see her at every home Florida basketball game and gymnastics meet while I was a beat reporter for the teams.  Abby has such a bubbly and fun personality and I k