With this school year quickly coming to a close, seniors graduate and The Spectrum will lose a few of its talented writers. We are always looking for new writers, and the Sports section is one of the most fun sections to write for. Here’s why you should apply:
- Excellent resume builder: On every job interview I’ve had, I’ve been asked a question along the lines of, “When is one time you’ve had to meet a deadline, and what was it?” When you write Sports you’ll meet two deadlines a week — mine are Tuesdays and Fridays. Although they are relatively flexible, such as sporting events on Saturday nights, if you don’t get your article in in time it will not be published. Excellent practice for the real life.
- “Fun weekend money,” as my editor Pace Maier said to me when I first got hired, and he’s right. Unfortunately, the student newspaper doesn’t offer salaries to writers, but they do offer fair wages depending on how often you write and how many words. It’s always nice to have extra cash.
- It’s great practice writing, and generating ideas quickly. We all procrastinate papers for class when we don’t have ideas for sometimes weeks, but for the Sports section, you don’t have that option. It’s great practice to whip together ideas that you are interested in. If it’s not up to par, it won’t be published and trust me that happens to everyone.
- All the sweet benefits you get as a writer. No lines into football games and special press box seats. My first press box game was in the Fargodome against the University of North Dakota, and I almost cried during the video countdown.
- Last but not least, it feels really special to see your name published in the newspaper. I’ve saved almost every issue I’ve written for, and it’s really cool to look back and see how far you’ve come. I’m glad I started writing for the Sports section, and I think you would be too.
Just go apply. You’ll be happy you did.