Reporter's Notebook: Journalism skills helpful in all jobs

I always appreciate the opportunity to talk with local students and learn about their futures. Every so often, classes meet with me — they either come down to our newsroom, in downtown Sandusky, or I visit their given schools — and we have a discussion. Keyword: discussion. Rather than me lecturing, going on and on about what I do and why it's important, instead, I quickly provide a brief bio of who I am and what I represent as a community journalist. That takes maybe 2 minutes. Then the dialogue, usually an hour, shifts entirely onto the students. (Yes, more times than not, the kids do stay engaged with these presentations.) Within the group, I conduct one-on-one interviews with each student. We talk aloud as everyone listens, and then I move on to the next student. I ask for each person's name and their future plans. That person speaks on his/her career ambitions and life objectives. For instance, this past week, Sandusky High School English teacher Beth Werling — a former Register employee who offers a class on journalism — brought down about a dozen students to the newsroom. One young lady opened up about her desire to be an oceanographer. We conversed about the importance of Lake Erie and Sandusky Bay and the accompanying research she's interested in that we have reported about. Her classmate then expressed a passion for architecture, and a quick dialogue about Sandusky's unique building layout ensued. This continued with an aspiring musician, teacher, graphic designer, diplomat and other professions. Beyond my genuine curiosity for learning about what others seek to accomplish, I then made my "sales pitch." Trust me, it's genuine and not conniving. I hammered home a point of how the skills a journalist needs — interviewing, which was achieved with these conversations; researching; writing; exploring the outside world; making deadlines; and many more — are transferrable in any career field imaginable. And students can receive a hands-on education about this through a Register internship. Some of the best aspects of an internship is that a student gets treated with as much respect as a full-time reporter from Day 1. They receive an opportunity to learn about their communities, harness their skills, make connections and even write about topics syncing up with their desired careers. My goal is to never recruit people specifically for journalism careers. If they want to go into journalism, I'll consider that an added bonus. The top priority I and my colleagues have is to help anyone develop and fine-tune their skills so they're prepared for whatever approaches next in their lives. Those front-page stories would also look good as clips attached to their resumes. Any student and/or teacher interested in learning more about journalism can reach out to me. You can start by emailing ouriel@sanduskyregister.com, and I'll be sure to get back to you. — Andy Ouriel