Moving forward

The goal of an organization like SUU News and the University Journal is to prepare its employed students for their futures while providing the student body with up-to-date coverage of what’s happening on campus. This semester, five staff members are graduating, but the mark they have left on SUU News will be lasting.

Aspen English - Editor-in-Chief

Aspen English likes to say that the UJ found her. During her sophomore year, English found herself in then Operations Manager Hayden Coombs’ office to talk about SUU News. She asked how she could apply, and Coombs asked if she could start on Monday.

English has been a more than dedicated member of the staff, and she took on the role as editor-in-chief her senior year. In this position, English has incorporated new systems that have revolutionized the way SUU News functions and has proven to be a leader that knows how to direct and respect her team.

“I’m so lucky to have such an incredible team of capable, knowledgeable writers that all have the same goal: provide the campus with relevant, credible news,” said English. “When you have so many people in the same room working towards the same goal, that is how the magic happens.”

After graduation, English will be moving to Salt Lake City, where she has accepted a job in the marketing and communication department at the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce.

“Any on-campus job is going to give you real-life experience, but the University Journal kind of took that an extra step,” said English. “It taught me about the publication process, reporting, investigating, interviewing and researching my information.”

Tara Dole - Copy Editor

Tara Dole is yet another member of the UJ staff Coombs recruited. After noticing that Dole rarely made AP style mistakes when writing, Coombs recommended that she interview with the former copy editor to be one of the people to take over the job.

“I am a huge proponent of grammar and stuff, so it’s kind of perfect for me,” said Dole.

Dole is planning to give herself a break after graduation to recover from the hectic past four years, but she’s sure that the skills she’s learned at the UJ will apply to wherever she finds herself in the future.

“The collaboration aspect, especially over Google Docs and the internet, I think, is super valuable for any job where you’re going to be working on a team, especially on projects that are collaborative,” said Dole.

Andrea Rodgers - Life Editor

Following the trend of being brought into SUU News by Coombs, Andrea Rodgers was taking one of his writing classes when he invited her to work for SUU News. She started as a reporter before becoming the life editor, and the rest is history.

“I have a deeper appreciation for how projects are done because there’s so much that goes unnoticed or unsaid in media in general,” said Rodgers.

Rodgers hopes to work in either television or radio post-grad but would also love to keep doing print journalism. As for the UJ, Rodgers hopes that it continues to be a supportive community.

“One of my favorite things about this job has been the people I work with,” said Rodgers. “It’s kind of a little family of just a bunch of writers and editors who get to work together and do some good.”

Chevy Blackburn - Sports Editor

Chevy Blackburn started at SUU News in the fall of 2022 as a reporter for the sports and outdoors sections. When the previous sports editor graduated, Blackburn was chosen to step up. During his time in the role, Blackburn has been able to release an average of eight stories per week in his section.

“The biggest lesson I have learned is not to take anything for granted and that it takes a lot to run a sports section,” said Blackburn. “I’ve noticed it is more about the effort you put in that makes an impact.”

Blackburn plans to pursue a master’s degree in professional communication and gain more experience within an athletics department — preferably at SUU. The UJ has helped prepare him for any potential future writing endeavors he is interested in, including sports information directing.

“My work at the Journal goes hand in hand with sports information directing, which is writing previews, recaps and other things for a program’s athletic department,” said Blackburn.

Luke McKenzie - News Editor

Luke McKenzie was working at Walgreens when he found out that SUU News was hiring halfway through his sophomore year. He took the opportunity and was hired a week later, eventually leading to him becoming the news editor.

“While journalism is definitely in the running for what I’d want to do as a career, I’d say the reason I took this job was to give me experience in something that would be meaningful to both me and job recruiters down the road,” said McKenzie.

McKenzie is currently deciding whether to enter into his master’s degree at SUU or to go straight into the workforce, preferably in sports communications. He credits SUU News with improving his writing skills in a way that will impact his future career.

The future

With such a strong group of journalists departing SUU News and the UJ, there are new opportunities for the organization to grow, both in size and in what it accomplishes.

“The program may be losing five of us, but I have full faith in the remaining staff of SUU News,” said English. “We’re just passing the torch to the next generation of T-Bird journalists.”

- Written by Tessa Cheshire

Top:

Aspen English Editor-in-Chief

Tara Dole

Copy Editor

Middle:

Andrea Rodgers

Life Editor

Chevy Blackburn

Sports Editor

Bottom:

Luke McKenzie

News Editor