My 10-years so far as a journalist

The other day, I was binge-watching some “Dateline” reruns and one of the episodes that came on was about a story that I had also covered early in my career.

It was about a man whose rst wife died suspiciously when a car fell on top of her as she was changing a tire. A judge ruled it was an accident – and questions arose when the man was accused (and later convicted) of murdering his second wife while hiking in Rocky Mountain National Park.

It got me thinking about all the stories I’ve told and edited through my years as a journalist. en it dawned on me that I have a special anniversary this month. July marks a decade as a fulltime journalist.

e prelude to my career was a short internship under the guidance of Rowena Alegria, who was the editor and publisher of the now-folded Viva Colorado newspaper. Alegria is still serving the community as the founder and director of the Denver O ce of Storytelling. en there was my threemonth internship abroad in Madrid, Spain, in which I wrote for a small website company that helped people settle abroad. On my return, my journalism career began in earnest, in the summer of 2013, in Cañon City, Colorado. Wow, I got to cover some interesting stories right from the start. I was the cops-and-crime reporter for the Cañon City Daily Record. No, I did not tour the “Alcatraz of the Rockies’’ in Florence, but I reported my fair share of county court proceedings, including some heinous crimes, ranging from arson and theft to rape and murder. My friends in Denver always asked me to bring them newspapers when I visited because the true crime I reported on was up to par with anything ctional.