In My Own Words: Why Am I a Journalism Major?

 

When I think about what it takes to be a Journalist, three attributes come to mind: determination, bravery, and grit; Getting information from different, sometimes unwilling, sources takes determination; Considering you want to get information, legitimate information, you must be dedicated to your craft and to your duty as a figure who spreads details to the public; To go against any major corporation, especially the United States government, is a dangerous and sometimes legally complicated game. The government has constantly attempted to use charges such as defamation and slander to scare journalists away from speaking the truth that the government doesn't want the public to see; this is why I say bravery is a must in this position. Lastly, grit, to have grit is to have unbreakable character; When working in the trivial world that is journalism and possibly politics, there are times when you could be bribed, forced into spreading misinformation, or made to hide your findings from the public regardless of how important they may be. I see grit as a necessity because if you have strong character and values, you will remain committed to your duty and spread truthful and quality information to the deserving citizens of the world and not let any form of corruption stand in the way of that. All of this to say: I believe my family has raised me to possess all these traits. I know I am a part of a family that tells the truth no matter the consequence. I also know on condition that I have to stand in a line of fire for speaking the truth and doing my duty as a journalist. I would not stand alone. No amount of money can replace the responsibility of being an honorable and trustworthy journalist. And that is what I aspire to be.

What Has Inspired me?

   My father, Brian Lashond Rollins, died in his jail cell when I was 5-years-old. I've read his certificate of death several times throughout my life. The story given by the police was that my father killed himself by hanging with a sheet. My father was said to have been hanging in his cell for nearly 15 minutes. After plenty of research on the practices of many jails and prisons, guards were meant to have checked on him before and within that time frame. Because my father's death was declared a suicide, my mother received no assistance to help raise me. My sister and I watched her struggle. As a child, it was hard to accept that my father chose to leave the world, to leave me. But as I grew up, I realized that things in the story of his death weren't adding up. Especially since my father had been to jail multiple times and his sentencing for this term was less than five months. This realization, as well as my constant journaling about my father's death, is what led me to pursue investigative journalism. I want to get the facts in every situation so nobody, child or adult, has to experience the pain and uncertainty I face every day. In many ways, I did not discover journalism so much as my life has prepared me to be a journalist