So when I heard about the FlipSide program, I was eager for the opportunity to try my hand at journalistic writing. I submitted my application with no real expectations of being accepted, so when I found out my work was to be printed in a Saturday issue of the Charleston Gazette, I was a little shocked.
The smile on my face after seeing my name in print for the first time was huge -- bigger than any smile I'd had volunteering at the hospital (or working any other job, for that matter.) That's when I knew I was bitten by the journalism bug, and there was no shaking my desire to pursue a career as a writer.
The first time I walked into the Gazette office for a meeting with FlipSide editor Amy Robinson, I had to concentrate hard not to let my jaw drop to the floor. Being inside a real-life newsroom was such a thrill; I know I openly gawked at a few of the writers, who thankfully hid any annoyance they had at the time.
Since then, I've been in a few more newsrooms. I worked as an intern at the Charleston Daily Mail one summer and wrote for the West Virginia University school newspaper, The Daily Athenaeum, for two years. I tried my hand at television journalism while working for WSAZ News Channel 3 and magazine journalism at West Virginia Living.
I even took my journalistic pursuits as far as London, England, where I wrote for a travel company called BritBound. This summer, I'll pack up my newly acquired Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and move to Washington, D.C., taking up space in the Huffington Post's newsroom as a multimedia and editorial intern.
The great thing is that I'm still at the start of my career. I was able to get the writing gigs I've already had because of the confidence I gained while working at FlipSide. That program introduced me to what I hope will become my life's work, and I'll be forever grateful for it.
I was two years old when FlipSide began and 16 when it inspired me to choose journalism. I hope it sticks around for another 20 years -- I'm sure there are some Charleston toddlers crawling around right now who would love to see their name in print a few years down the road!
Paige Lavender graduated from Riverside High School in 2007. She is soon to be an intern for the Huffington Post.
By Paige Lavender
Throughout high school, I had quite the inner struggle going on. I had always known I would go to college, but for what?
At the time, it was a toss-up between journalism and biology -- two completely different fields of study that appealed to me for two completely different reasons.
I thought about biology because I wanted to be a doctor. My mom is a nurse, so I grew up around Charleston Area Medical Center.
I remember being a little kid and marveling at the electrocardiograph machines on 4-South of Memorial Hospital. As a volunteer in high school, I worked alongside the nurses on that floor, observing their daily duties and wondering if I was cut out for a job that required so much of a person. (I still look up to those nurses as real-life superheroes.)
At the same time, I was falling more and more in love with writing. After helping with my eighth grade yearbook, I started considering professions that involved writing, and journalism naturally came to mind.
I couldn't believe people could actually get paid to write. The whole concept blew my mind.
So when I heard about the FlipSide program, I was eager for the opportunity to try my hand at journalistic writing. I submitted my application with no real expectations of being accepted, so when I found out my work was to be printed in a Saturday issue of the Charleston Gazette, I was a little shocked.
The smile on my face after seeing my name in print for the first time was huge -- bigger than any smile I'd had volunteering at the hospital (or working any other job, for that matter.) That's when I knew I was bitten by the journalism bug, and there was no shaking my desire to pursue a career as a writer.
The first time I walked into the Gazette office for a meeting with FlipSide editor Amy Robinson, I had to concentrate hard not to let my jaw drop to the floor. Being inside a real-life newsroom was such a thrill; I know I openly gawked at a few of the writers, who thankfully hid any annoyance they had at the time.
Since then, I've been in a few more newsrooms. I worked as an intern at the Charleston Daily Mail one summer and wrote for the West Virginia University school newspaper, The Daily Athenaeum, for two years. I tried my hand at television journalism while working for WSAZ News Channel 3 and magazine journalism at West Virginia Living.
I even took my journalistic pursuits as far as London, England, where I wrote for a travel company called BritBound. This summer, I'll pack up my newly acquired Bachelor's Degree in Journalism and move to Washington, D.C., taking up space in the Huffington Post's newsroom as a multimedia and editorial intern.
The great thing is that I'm still at the start of my career. I was able to get the writing gigs I've already had because of the confidence I gained while working at FlipSide. That program introduced me to what I hope will become my life's work, and I'll be forever grateful for it.
I was two years old when FlipSide began and 16 when it inspired me to choose journalism. I hope it sticks around for another 20 years -- I'm sure there are some Charleston toddlers crawling around right now who would love to see their name in print a few years down the road!
Paige Lavender graduated from Riverside High School in 2007. She is soon to be an intern for the Huffington Post.
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