I am applying to this scholarship so that I can continue to gain new experiences and pursue my passion of writing.
I have been writing professionally for four years and have been honored to have as much experience as I have so far. Before attending Michigan State University I attended Lansing Community College for three years. There, I was apart of the college newspaper, The Lookout. At The Lookout I was lucky to take on many roles. These roles included news editor, sports editor, social media master and arts & entertainment editor. During my final year at LCC in 2015 I found my true passion writing in the arts, entertainment and feature section. I was able to cover three to four events each week and was writing four to five stories each week. Working at LCC prepared me for the rigorous long nights and massive amounts of coffee that working for a newspaper entails.
I began my own blog titled: Jaimie the Journalist in 2015. I wanted to start branching out from my college newspaper and start focusing on things that really interested me. This was local artists, musicians and entertainment events. Soon my blog started getting more attention and I decided to start covering bigger artists and events. I was able to cover Common Ground Music Festival in 2015 and lined up interviews with musicians that included Aaron Bruno from AWOLNATION. I also covered MoPop Music Festival in Detroit. My blog gave me a unique experience. I was my own editor so running my own blog has made me more aware of making sure each quote and each attribution was correct. I currently post once a week and schedule interviews with musicians and artists of all kinds.
In Spring of 2015 I got accepted in Michigan State University. This was a huge accomplishment for me. I have been honored and in awe of the amazing opportunities MSU has provided for me. One of those opportunities has been working for the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association at MSU. MIPA works with high school journalists to help inspire them to be the best they can be. We hold workshops and conferences year round. I am also the social media master. I am in charge of posting timely and interesting posts to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. I also write all the content for a bi-weekly newsletter that is emailed to high school advisers from all over Michigan.
I have also had the opportunity to write for The State News. I am currently a features reporter. I write three stories a week and am in a constant search for new stories and ideas. I work with videos and have created two or three during my time at The State News. I use Premiere Pro to edit my work.
I had the honor of being the lead writer for MSU's MI First Election. I was in the new newsroom from 3 p.m. until 12 a.m. I wrote, covered and gathered campus data the night of the election.
I work with MSU's Media Sandbox to write blog posts and newsletter content. My duties include finding interested and fun activities to write about as well as finding students and staff to highlight. Media Sandbox is an integrated
Besides the many writing opportunities I have had I am also currently a member of the Association for Women in Sports Media.
I would like to gain even more experience through MSU. I want to gain connections, get real world experience and keep setting the stones to step on when I graduate from MSU. I hope my experience will help you realize how passionate I am about getting an education. I am in need of a scholarship because without one I am currently paying for college by myself.
