Did I ever tell you about the time I was a sports reporter for the Liberty Champion?
Before I became the editor in chief of the newspaper, I was a writer trying to fulfill my Christian Service (CSER) hours. I chose the sports beat because I love all things related to sports, and it was a great way to gain experience for my journalism major.
My freshman and sophomore years were spent going to various home sporting events, interviewing people and writing recap stories. It felt special to access sidelines and talk with coaches and players — something not very many students get to do.
At the same time, I had to find a job. CSER hours are great for graduation, but, like all people, I needed money. I decided to get a job with Sodexo, and I was placed behind the counter at SubConnection.
I thought it would be easy. What I found was that the people I worked with were amazing, but the job was way more challenging than I imagined.
My first night showed me how rough food service could be. I clocked in at 4 p.m. and did not leave until 12:30 a.m. The day was spent making hundreds of sandwiches and ensuring each student was satisfied.
I did this Wednesday through Sunday.
Oh, and did I mention I was doing 18 credit hours at the same time and had a morning class after every weekday shift?
Yeah, it was a lot to manage, but I quickly earned a new respect for food service workers.
So, for five days a week across three semesters, my schedule consisted of classes in the morning, Champion work in the afternoon and SubConnection in the evening.
The chaotic pace taught me a lot of lessons. The first lesson I learned helped me become an editor at the Champion.
Since I could not write my recap articles after each game, I had to learn how to write while the event was happening. It unlocked a crucial skill that every journalist should have and allowed me to turn in stories at a fast pace.
The other lesson I learned was that hard work is no excuse to quit. If I had given up, well, I would not be writing this right now.
Proverbs 14:23 says, “In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty.”
Work hard, push yourself beyond your limits and never give up.
That’s all for this adventure. I’ll see you in the next one!
Warden is the editor in chief for The Liberty Champion.