When my best friend went to the journalism program at Syracuse University and I decided to attend Georgetown, she questioned my dedication to writing. According to her, if you were serious about journalism, you went to a journalism school. But I wanted a broader education, and I, crazily, preferred Washington DC to Syracuse NY. Seven years later, she’s officially sick of covering the giftware beat for a trade publication, and I’ve published a small book, gotten my name mentioned in the New Yorker and have a flourishing freelance career. Thank you, Georgetown University!

No, actually, if anything, I think what aided me at Georgetown was that it is actually not a journalism school, so that you have less competition and more freedom to practice the kind of writing that you really want to pursue. Even though I’m not an investigative reporter, I’m still proud of a somewhat controversial final piece I wrote for my Journalism II class. Meanwhile, I just applied for a travel writing freelance assignment and threw in a clip from my days of filing a column for the Hoya while I studied abroad in Florence.

When you have guidance but not rules or programs to keep you on a particular track, I think that helps you as a writer, and it certainly helped me. I think I’m in the best of both worlds right now, as I have a day job that pays the rent but also gives me the free time I need to freelance and explore different projects. Sometimes I still daydream about my name having a permanent place on a high-profile masthead, but then I realize I’d never have the time I’d need to try all the different styles of writing I’ve handled over the last few years. And, better yet—the more clips and experience I gain, I think that masthead dream could potentially become a reality, should I choose to pursue that. I like versatility as a writer, and I think that Georgetown’s writing programs gave me the flexibility I needed, rather than a strict curriculum to keep me on one particular track.

Links to Stories:

• At Mama Rosa's In Italy, Bed Bugs Do Bite (The Hoya)
• A real kick for dancers: Burlesque performers revel in stripping that is often comic, satirical (Chicago Tribue)