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 After graduating magna cum laude from Alfred University in 2004, I found myself facing a dilemma - what the heck to do with a degree in History and English Literature? Like many people around that age, I was well-educated but knew very little. One thing I knew was that I loved words.

 

From my background in English and Creative Writing, I had learned an appreciation for the artistry and magic of language. From my studies in History, I had come to understand language as a tool of tremendous creative - and destructive - power. Whether it be the Bible, the 95 Theses or the Communist Manifesto, words have the power to alter the trajectory of a culture.

 

But it would be three years before I found a career where these lessons were a necessity. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was learning another purpose of words; their ability to dispel ignorance, to give people the information to improve their lives.

Journalism is the synthesis of all those half-formed ideas. It uses both the beauty and power of language to address society's immediate need for clarity, data, diversion, and truth.

 

I am still not finished learning everything there is to learn about words, and I don't think I ever will be. Certainly, studying with the brilliant faculty at Boston University's journalism Master's program has shown me how far I still have to go. But I don't think there's any better life than one spent in the pursuit of good journalism. It's exciting, difficult, arduous, occasionally frustrating, and every once in a while, it saves the world.