Believe it or not, I kind of don’t want to graduate. 

Sure, the communications building kind of smells like feet and is falling apart from the inside out. And I suppose that all the long nights and frustrating assignments will be fun to say goodbye to. But I’m going to miss this place, dust and all. 

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But I know that you aren’t here for the fluff. You came here to pinch me on the cheek and ask me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” And to that I say, I have no idea. 

At this point, I’ve lost track of how many jobs I’ve applied for. I’ve certainly applied for more than 20, which is probably severely low-balling it. I’ve heard back from probably four or five and got an interview on only one, which was a DEI position in Michigan. 

Each one was their own fiasco, in which I would draft a cover letter specifically tailored to the job description. In each one, I would get better at presenting myself in a way that put my best foot forward. My website is getting more and more refined and sleek, presenting only my best work in the best way that I can. 

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Apparently, that was not enough. So, if you’re looking for a hot take, here you go: Without DEI initiatives, I wouldn’t have gotten any job interviews. 

OK, I lied. Here’s another hot take: I probably would have had more interviews if a real human being looked at my resume instead of artificial intelligence. I have strong opinions about this that I edited out for space.  

Anyhow, now that I’m done venting about the 2025 career landscape, I should probably add some more positive anecdotes of the good experiences that I have had so that I don’t lose you with my negativity. 

I’ll start on the road to Washington, D.C., singing “Take me Home, Country Roads” by John Denver at the top of our lungs. We had a good time, especially at the DIY Dunkin Donuts in Woodstock, Virginia. 

Meeting Bryan Woolston in D.C. and getting to essentially job-follow a professional photojournalist and see his method was a highlight of the trip. I think I learned a lot about self-care and pacing myself from him that I’ve carried with me as I continue to pursue my passion in photojournalism. 

Now let’s travel back to southern Illinois to the rolling hills of Alto Pass and Cobden. If there were any moment that I could point to that changed the direction of my career, it would probably be the Weekend Workshop that I took part in during the 2024 spring semester. 

It was mid April, and the weather was moderately warm for that time of spring. In the days leading up to the workshop, everything was going wrong for me. My plan to photograph a farm seemed like it wouldn’t be a possibility after my contacts suddenly stopped responding. 

But the day before, I called a small store in Cobden and lucked out, being able to photograph the store over the course of a few days. 

By the Sunday when the work was displayed, I had surprised myself. I’m still very proud of what I was able to accomplish, and I will always remember how it felt to document the joy of a family celebrating a birthday party in the sunset in the small rural community. 

It was humanity that I had just witnessed. Documenting it in a series of 10 or so images was the hard part. And the way that it felt photographing then has really inspired my interests in photography since. 

That was really existential. Let’s pivot to something more light before things get out of hand. I’ve made a lot of friends here at SIU. In two years, I feel like I’ve made connections that will last a lifetime, which is really special to me. You thought I wasn’t going to name drop, but I am. Brace yourself. 

There are a lot of amazing professors here at SIU that have really inspired me and fostered the success and growth that I’ve seen. Professor Julia Rendleman is a friend and mentor to me and is helping me incredibly as I pursue my career. Professor Molly Parker is also extremely helpful to me, being a support as I also write on top of my photojournalism projects. 

Of course, my actual major is photography, as in the art side of things. So, I’d be remiss to forget about mentioning it as well. Professor Antonio Martinez, although I’ve only taken one class with him, has been a help to me. He doesn’t know this, but I’ve known about him for a while because I used to work with his wife at John A. Logan College. 

Alison Smith has also given me a lot of feedback and contributed to my photographic growth. 

By the way, I am also trying to complete a music minor. I’ll be honest about that department. I had a mostly positive experience at the School of Music, but I did not enjoy the way that applied lessons worked or the teacher-student relationship of the lessons. But I’m spoiled: I’ve only ever had two classes where I felt like I was working against a negative atmosphere to learn and grow. 

I did meet some amazing professors, though, who have really inspired me. Firstly, professor Chris Walczak has been an amazing help to me to pursue real interest in composition. I was able to take part in two composition recitals that have been great learning experiences to me. 

I also was able to take part in the Southern Illinois Symphony Orchestra with the amazing professor Cauti Rosani, who really inspired me to pursue my interest in the cello. I’ve always wanted to take part in an orchestra or ensemble and wasn’t able to — you know, being homeschooled. 

On that note, I did get two other amazing opportunities that I’ll mention super quickly because I have eight seconds more of your attention. 

I’m going to Peru to work on a story with Lylee Gibbs and the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. Plane tickets are booked: there’s no going back. 

I am one of two students who won the Rickert-Ziebold Award, a contest for graduating seniors in the School of Art and Design at SIU. This was an amazing opportunity that I’m so grateful to SIU to take part in. 

Anyhow, how many times have I used the word amazing? It’s starting to lose meaning. That must be really bad writing. 

But it doesn’t matter. I’m graduating! So long, suckers!!! 

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