Short Story
When reading all alumni contributions I am extremely impressed by all these amazing stories. However, these tales of world travels and Ivy League educations are not the path that I chose to follow. Even though I have loved every minute of my internship at the Roosevelt Study Center, I decided not to pursue a career as an academic in American History. In my alumni contribution I will introduce you to my current daily life as an editor of a regional newspaper. Something I could not have imagined to be my future a year ago, when I was still studying History at the University of Groningen.
During my internship at the Roosevelt Study Center I realized that a career as a scholar was not my future. While I was tremendously excited about all the sources and literature on American history that the center had to offer, I became less excited about what it entails to be a scholar. Therefore I decided to wave American history goodbye for a while, and pursue my growing interest in journalism.
I responded to an ad in a local newspaper for an internship at their editorial staff. This paper offered me an amazing opportunity to get familiar with journalism in the most practical way possible. They even offered me a position as editor, filling in for someone on maternity leave. A chance I could not possibly pass on.
Therefore, I am currently the editor of two regional editions of a local newspaper which reaches nearly half a million people every week. A job that I love to do and is more diverse than I could ever have imagined. However, I am slowly finding my way back to the academic scene. In order to challenge myself to grow as a journalist, I have decided to go back to university in January. The Erasmus University Rotterdam has selected me for their post-academic journalism program, which I am very excited about to attend.
And who knows, maybe one day I will even find my way back to my American history roots as a journalist on the road in the United States of America. But that will be for another alumni contribution.