Mic’ing up Chicago youth boxer Felix Gonzalez for one of my broadcast pieces.

Throughout Columbia College Chicago’s Journalism MA program I have heard the phrase “be a voice for the voiceless,” to describe the responsibility of journalists.

And while I have agreed, witnessed and experienced that firsthand, it has led me to another thought.

As a journalist it’s important to be the watchdog for people—getting involved with community members and seeking out and listening to a diverse group or individuals to hear about underlying issues they, or someone they know, have faced.  BUT, you will never fully get to that point if you don’t do one thing first.

Be a voice for the voiceless, but don’t forget to be a voice for yourself too.

Over the past 14 months I have expressed my desire to be a sportscaster to a number of grad, undergrad, faculty and staff members, peer groups and family members, but for some reason I have had issues saying my career goals confidently to working professionals.

I’ve blogged before about taking initiative and how you have full control over what you receive in an internship and how what you put into it is what you’re going to get out of it. Well, the same holds true not just for your work ethic and actions, but your words and delivery.

Working professionals are in this industry for a reason. They share the common passion for telling the story in a compelling way. For the most part, they love what they do. And believe it or not, they really want to help you prepare for and achieve your career goals.

College football Saturday – Campus Insiders’ style.

Columbia’s motto is “live what you love.” These working journalists are the definition of that. They are there to advise, help, teach and support you along the way, but they cannot prepare you for your future career if you’re not fully direct with your intentions of what you want to achieve.

I faced my fair share of challenges this summer, even went through a career identity crisis, but I still made the most of the experience and used it to explore different facets of the industry.

As I mentioned before, sometimes you have to refine your goals. For me, I did that. I expressed it to professors and staff members at Columbia, I even discussed it in my fall internship interviews, and while I was told by two of the three companies that nobody except a major network wants to invest in an investigative sports reporter, but I truly believe it’s a growing position that other stations and networks besides ESPN will seek out.

I’m just a journalist looking for a rewarding challenge in an area I have always had a passion for.

So that’s great Danielle…you’ve shared your redesigned career goals, so now what?

Well, a combination of the two phrases I mentioned earlier: Be a voice for the voiceless, but don’t forget to be a voice for yourself too.  I didn’t fully realize that until I started my fall internship.

Now, I’m only finishing up my second week with Campus Insiders, but so far it has been a great experience because of one phrase that got me thinking.

The managing editor said, “What do you want to do?”

And me being, well, me, somewhat shyly yet half confidently said, “Well I want to be a reporter. I spent a lot of time editing and producing this summer, which I enjoyed. I like to write and I like to tell the story on a broadcast platform.”

So I touched on what I wanted to do, but I kind of danced around what I really want to do.

His question stayed with me all night, on through the next day and even halfway through the following day when I returned for day two of my internship.

And then I finally told myself, “Danielle, you have a plan and goals in mind. You want to focus on reporting, writing and on-air delivery. Tell them that.”

So I did. I finally grew a pair, walked into one of the on-air talent’s office and said, I really want to be an on-air reporter; can I work with you on how you prepare, interview and report? I really feel I need to focus more on adjusting my writing and on-camera delivery skills, is there a way we can make that work?

And you know what? She asked me what my career goals were, why I wanted to be an on-air reporter and offered me the opportunity to research, sit in on interviews, write and give me feedback on my delivery. And not just her, but another on-air talent.

Every day I go to my internship with a purpose—to see at least one segment from beginning to end by brainstorming, researching, reporting, interviewing and writing the piece. That way my focus is on the reporting side of it, yet I’m still learning and help the producers and editors to ensure the vision becomes a reality.

Live streaming Waskul.tv interview during the 2014 NAB Show. Photo Credit: Omar Castillo

The Point:

The point is…have goals, be open to unseen adjustments, but make sure you speak up confidently about what you want to achieve. Have a vision of what you want to get out of an experience and where you want to be at the end of your time—whether it’s with an internship, assignment, volunteer work or a job. Immerse yourself in a variety of experiences, but make sure you’re still focusing on and working towards your underlying goal because you can’t fully be a voice for the voiceless, if you’re not a voice for yourself first.