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Emily King ’05 |
Emily King ’05
is one alumna who is following her career path —
back to her alma mater. In fact, she recently returned
to Oswego State to accept the position of alumni and
development communications assistant in Sheldon Hall,
where she will be responsible for the Lake
E-ffect e-newsletter, Oswego
Parents newsletter and portions of the Oswego
alumni magazine.
“Emily will bring her excellent writing skills,
creativity, energy and a fresh perspective to all our
publications,” said Michele Reed, director of
alumni and development communications. “With Emily
as part of our team, we are ready to take alumni and
development communications to the next level.”
King received her journalism degree from Oswego in 2005
and set out to realize her dream to see her writing
in print. Through an Internet search, she found a photography
internship with the Pinedale
Roundup, a small weekly newspaper in Pinedale,
Wyo., and made the three-day drive from her home in
Groton to “The Square State” with her father
just a few weeks after graduation.
“I had no clue what it was going to be like,”
said King. Little did she know the direction that journey
would take her.
King was by no means inexperienced in the field of reporting.
As a student, she completed a summer internship with
Oswego alumni magazine,
interned with the New York Press Association and worked
with Tom Caraccioli ’89
at NBC Sports in Manhattan during the 2002 Olympic Games.
She also wrote for the Oswegonian
and initiated a “day in the life” series
featuring different majors offered at Oswego.
But the move to Pinedale proved to be different than
King had expected.
After only a week and a half as the photography intern,
King was hired as a full-time reporter to cover county
and town meetings, the courts, school board meetings
and community events after the newspaper lost its lead
reporter. King took on 10 to 15 articles each week,
covering the town of 1,000 people, and often taking
her own photos. “It was pretty intense,”
King said. “It was just me, a photographer and
the editor working to fill the paper.”
King was thrust into the business at a dizzying speed,
working as many as 80 hours each week. In addition to
covering hard news, King made it a point to write in
her favorite news genre — feature stories.
“I like writing stories where you feel like you’re
sitting there talking with the person,” King said.
“I tried to write one feature each week.”
Many of King’s stories were inspired by conversations
that she had with the “honest and friendly”
people of Pinedale. “I learned how to home in
on conversations,” she said. “You have to
keep your eyes open and listen a lot.”
King worked for the Pinedale
Roundup for one year before accepting another
lead reporter position, this time with the Teton
Valley News in Idaho. After six months with the
small weekly paper, she learned about the new position
at her alma mater. King jumped at the chance to work
with the magazine again.
King expressed appreciation for her co-workers in Alumni
and University Development, whom she described as friendly,
talkative and open. She was also enthusiastic about
the direction and pace of the university’s development,
especially with the addition of the Campus Center and
renovations to Swetman and Poucher halls.
“The campus is already different from when I left,”
she said. “What’s already happening here
will make such a difference and make Oswego a great
place for anybody.”
King credits Reed and professor Linda
Loomis ’90, M ’97 with providing
opportunities for personal, academic and professional
growth.
“This school is very hands-on,” King said.
“When I got into the work world, I didn’t
feel behind because of my professors. They watch out
for you. They’ll be there.”
Loomis remembers King as a dedicated student. “Emily
made the most of her opportunities at Oswego State,
working hard and making academics her major commitment,”
Loomis said. “Emily is an important addition to
the staff of the alumni publications because she loves
Oswego and loves telling the stories of our amazing
alumni.”
King is starting to settle into her new life in Oswego.
She looks forward to having more time to herself now
that her job responsibilities end at 5 p.m. instead
of 1 a.m. Although the Wyoming newspaper workload was
grueling, King said that the lessons learned were invaluable.
“There wasn’t a day in my life that I thought
that I was going to be rich doing this,” she said,
“but [writing] is definitely what I’m going
to do for the rest of my life.”
— Meagan Smith ’07 |
| Back
To December 2006 E-Newsletter |
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