I’ve wanted to be a journalist since I was seven years old — I know it sounds crazy that a young kid would randomly decide one day to become a journalist but I swear I did. People used to ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up and while most kids that age would answer with something whimsical like an astronaut or a doctor, I would say “journalist”. This usually earned me quite the befuddled look from the adults.

Where this idea of becoming a journalist came from at such a young age, I can’t be sure. Maybe it was sitting at the table reading newspapers with my grandmother every weekend, maybe it was pop culture representations, but from a young age I felt pulled to be a journalist in some capacity. Because of this natural draw, it was a no-brainer that I would be involved with the Royal Purple from the jump when I started my college education at the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater. The option of participating directly in a student newspaper like that was actually one of the major factors that drew me here to begin with.

During my time at the Royal Purple, I wore many different hats and dug my hands into a variety of projects and stories that would help mold me into the journalist that I am today.

I started at the Royal Purple in the fall of 2015, my first semester on campus. I volunteered as a staff writer for the news section, where I began digging in and writing a variety of stories that helped me learn campus and learn the basics of news writing. The following year I worked as the assistant news editor for about a semester and a half before transitioning to the lifestyle editor.

Prior to starting college, I had aspirations of becoming a lifestyle writer, à la Carrie Bradshaw, or something along those lines. My brief stint as the lifestyle editor showed me quickly that type of writing was not where my talent lay, nor my passion, as I found myself missing the impact and pace of the news section. I went on to serve as the news editor and in my final year, I served as the editor-in-chief, where I was incredibly lucky to lead an incredibly talented and intelligent group of editors and staff writers.

It’s hard to summarize just how impactful my time at the Royal Purple was. It was here that I got my hands dirty — learning how to connect with sources, conduct useful interviews and learn the nitty gritty, minutia of writing and working on a newspaper staff that would help me transition into life as a journalist.

The Royal Purple quite literally helped me find my path as journalist — I learned quickly that fluffy, lifestyle writing wasn’t for me and instead I preferred the grittiness and reality of news writing — specifically covering local governmental bodies. During my time as assistant news editor and news editor I was mentored by a friend, classmate and the editor-in-chief at the time, on the how-tos of covering local government by attending the City of Whitewater Common Council meetings. It was at those meetings and writing those stories that set off my passion within journalism and showed me that path I wanted to take.

Following my time at the Royal Purple I was hired as a county government reporter for the Baraboo News Republic and The Portage Daily Register, where I would be covering the goings-ons of the Sauk and Columbia county boards. I still remember that position fondly as a place I cut my teeth, learned valuable skills as a news writer and am incredibly grateful those communities trusted me with keeping them informed as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded.

My passion for journalism took on a project in 2020 when myself and my partner set out on the crazy rollercoaster of starting a newspaper—from scratch—by ourselves. Valley Sentinel was born at the height of the pandemic, out of the desire and passion to try a different type of news model — one that is integral to community and helps to build community. We’re entirely editor-owned, free to read and operate on an ad and supporter revenue model, covering the local news, government, community and arts & culture in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Our focus has always been to simply do the news well, and provide impactful, compelling news to this little but larger than life community. Our hope is to continue to take this proof of concept and use it to support and incubate other local, independent news media, especially in rural areas and news deserts.

I still think we’re crazy for hard launching an entire newspaper from scratch with nothing more than the old Macbook Pro I used while at Whitewater and a few thousand dollars, but it’s been incredibly rewarding and we’re very lucky and grateful to be well awarded across editorial and advertising divisions at the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.

In the past five years, we’ve sued over public records and won, judged the state Civics Games, been nominated for the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council’s Openness in Government Awards (Opees), we’ve pushed conversations about the University of Wisconsin System and campus closures to the forefront of community conscious, we’ve toppled corrupt local governments and covered their rebuild, and we were awarded as best small newspaper in the state at the Wisconsin Newspaper Association awards — on our first year eligible. This past year we were honored to join the Association of Alternative Newsmedia Publishers and were invited to speak on the future model of (homegrown) local journalism for the Wisconsin Newspaper Association.

In addition to owning Valley Sentinel, I work in media relations for UnityPoint Health – Meriter hospital in Madison. I still utilize the same skills I learned at the Royal Purple each day here, writing press releases, creating content for both owned and earned media opportunities, doing executive and provider media training and assisting local media with interview and information needs. I have an incredible team and organization behind me here, who supports my work to help journalists keep our community informed about their health.

Throughout the experience of starting my own publication, I’ve been honored to have the opportunity to mentor a variety of UW students who have done for-credit internships with Valley Sentinel, and in that work I have unlocked a new passion within journalism that is teaching the next generation and sharing the knowledge and wisdom I’ve picked up along the way. Interested student and early career journalists are always welcome to reach out to me at: [email protected].

There is no question in my mind that I wouldn’t be an award-winning journalist without my participation in the Royal Purple. I was quite literally able to launch my own publication because of the skills I learned as a student journalist in those long hours interviewing, writing, editing and on those long-in-the-tooth production nights designing each page of the paper by hand that made me feel confident and gave me the guiding compass I needed.

This industry is simultaneously under the most pressure it has ever been at the same time that it’s needed the most, in our local communities and beyond. I want my experience to show there are important opportunities in this field—and that we should never be afraid to create our own. I credit that resolve to my time at the Royal Purple.