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When I started college, I had already had a few years of journalism experience up under my belt. I had been interning for the magazine for two years at this point, and didn’t really find it necessary to get any other experiences because I thought I had all I needed.

I was also focused on all of the wrong things at the wrong time, but that’s a story for another time.

After a few semesters at TROY, I decided I wanted to become more involved within the school’s programs. I had basically blossomed over the summer and was searching for opportunities to meet new people while also getting involved in new organizations.

I was working for the newspaper at the time I approached my professor about joining the school’s paper. It was something that I wanted to contribute to on the side while I still focused on my job.

As we all know, that didn’t exactly work out, but I’m thankful that it didn’t.

Writing for the school’s newspaper is why I have the job within my school’s university relations office today.

My professor read my story, and approached me with the position for TROY Today because she thought I’d be a good fit.

Joining school organizations is a great way to get your foot in the door, but it’s also an amazing way to find new opportunites.

My professor was a broadcast journalism major reporting for the school’s news channel and was offered a job within a local station after they viewed her work.

That’s just two out of so many instances of people finding jobs from joining their school’s organizations.

Even if it doesn’t bring new opportunities or job offers, it still gives you the necessary experience you need to succeed in the industry. You’ll learn valuable skills that give you a “real world” perspective of how the journalism industry works.

So much of the work is hands on, and your professors and advisors are more than willing to teach you the things you need to know to be successful (it’s literally what they’re there for).

You never know what the opportunity can bring, and no matter what, it leaves you with a new set of skills, new friends and the realest experience you can get before you graduate.