coffee makes me all jittery and wanting to think too much
I had lunch today with some of the heads of the Scripps Howard Foundation, who funds my internship with Hispanic Link, and the interns I live with. I sat next to the president of the foundation (I'm pretty sure that's what her title was) and we had a really good discussion with her about what to do after receiving undergraduate degrees. A couple of my roommates want to take different paths; one wants to go to law school, another wants to get her MBA.
I never disclosed my plans, because I wanted to see what she said. She suggested going to work for a paper for a few years and then going back to get your masters in a subject other than journalism. It made me question for a second what I was doing. So far, my plan is to attend grad school at Texas State for journalism. Then I want to enter into a newspaper job, and perhaps about a decade down the road, go back to get my doctorate so I can teach and do research.
She really seemed to suggest to stray away from this path, but I couldn't help thinking regardless of the path I choose in the future, I'm still in good shape. I want my research to be concentrated on Hispanics in media, and I think what I know least about is how to do research on mass media. I'm going to graduate this winter with undergrad degrees in Journalism and Political Science, which I think gives me an edge versus other journalists. It never ceases to amaze me how little journalists actually know about the political process and still report on it. I also don't want to lose my "student" focus. I'm still up for late night studying and reading textbooks. I think if I waited longer, I wouldn't want to do it or have time for it. I'd rather get my masters over with now while I still have a scholarship to pay for it and then go to work, save money and then go back to school for a phd.
So much to think about...it seems like you never have enough time for these decisions.