Whether you’re spending four hours locked inside a windowless room editing, staying up until 2 a.m. writing and rewriting, or sending out email after email trying to contact bands to interview, this one is for you. Since student media takes up such a significant part of one’s life, there are certain things only individuals involved in this extracurricular can truly relate to.
1. Thinking of the perfect follow-up question after you walk away
When conducting an interview, you try your absolute best to be as engaged and present as possible. You listen intently and are constantly thinking of the information that will make your piece stronger. Even if the interview went super well, there are those times you get back home and think of a question that would have made the content of your article that much more interesting. You spend the next hour trying to invent a time machine to go back to the interview, then realize you aren’t an engineer.
2. Taking staying up late to a whole new level
Meeting deadlines is vital for a young professional. If someone expects an article or package to be done by a certain time, it’s important to honor those expectations, even it requires you to stay up until the break of dawn. When you pair your student media assignments with your school work, many incredibly late nights inevitably result.
3. When the equipment you checked before you left lets you down
Technology can go from being your best friend to your worst enemy in a matter of seconds. Even if you check your camera batteries and XLR cables before heading to the event you’re covering, equipment can just give out. Situations like these help student media people develop their ability to improvise and recover when things go terribly wrong.
4. Not being free any night of the week
I always feel terrible when friends who aren’t involved in student media ask what day of the week I’m free. The answer is usually none. Even though I love keeping busy and being a part of such a dedicated and talented group of students, it would be nice to once and a while have the chance to grab dinner with a friend and catch up during the week.
5. Having trouble planning ahead when it comes to your social life
6. Miraculously having more than 24 hours in your day
When you hear someone complain about having one paper due and a group project to work on, you take a moment and imagine life being that simple. You’re over here, organizing group projects, creating rundowns, interning, applying to other internships and just trying to find a second to eat. Regardless of how many things you have going on, you somehow manage to get it all done and you take pride in this.
7. Being asked “Why are you here?”
You are way too used to this question and are actually surprised when people don’t ask you this. If a camera was pointed in my general direction, I know I’d be really curious as to why as well.
8. That awkward moment when you approach someone and they ignore you by accident
You scout out possible interviewees at an event and approach them. They don’t realize you’re talking to them and walk away, leaving you looking like you were talking to yourself.
9. That awkward moment when you approach someone and they ignore you on purpose
Some people don’t want to be bothered. I completely understand that. However, words cannot describe how appreciative I am of a polite decline. Someone simply stating that they aren’t interested in being interviewed or are afraid of being on camera is so much greater than someone simply acting as if you don’t exist.
10. Endlessly editing
You feel like you haven’t seen light in days. You are starting to contemplate whether the sun or the world beyond your computer even exist anymore. Even though organizing clips and adding “in” and “out" points can feel like a never-ending process, you couldn’t be more proud when the final product turns out exactly how or even better than you envisioned it.
11. The feeling you get when you have the opportunity to meet incredible people or get special access to events
One of the many perks of being on a student media staff is having the chance to meet people you wouldn’t otherwise have access to. Words cannot describe how ecstatic I was to interview two members of the Grammy Award-winning band, Arcade Fire last year. There is no way that I would have had this opportunity without being in charge of the entertainment department of the television station on campus.
Last year, Marquette University Television live-streamed Marquette Madness. Staff members got to arrive early to set up. Without being a member of student media, I wouldn't have been able to avoid the long lines and stand court side during all of the festivities.
Regardless of the amount of pressure you’re feeling right now, you know that all of the experience you’re gaining and the hard work you are putting in is going to pay off. Even though you may feel overwhelmed at times, student media has given you lifelong friends you wouldn’t trade for anything in the world, reel material, clips, and some of the best memories of your college career.
