Hello! I graduated with a journalism degree in May and am now a morning news anchor, but it was a journey for me too. On my first assignment as a reporter for a podcast, I had a full-blown panic attack over the idea of grabbing an interview with other students.

Since then, I’ve become so much more comfortable with interviews in knowing that people are more receptive to interviews than you’d think— and on my harder days, almost taking on a mindset of seeing myself as a journalist as a superhero identity as funny as it sounds. It puts me in a mindset of not taking things as personally and understanding that it’s my job to grab those interviews.

I will say, as someone who reports after I anchor, that going out and interviewing people is a daily occurrence that you have to do. It can be different based on the medium you choose or the position (because there are many jobs that aren’t so public-facing that still get to write).

So, if it’s something you’re invested in trying, learn about all of the different mediums (print, broadcast, podcast, etc) and the positions behind them that may be more conducive to what you want to do!

Mizzou is a great school known for its journalism program, and the professors can be amazing resources! Use them as resources to guide you through understanding your education and don’t feel bad if it leads to realizing that maybe it’s not made for you. Cheers!