Alumni Memory: Khairoon Abbas, MJ ’09
Learn to Stand By Crawling
Journalism school was one of the best times of my life, from making lifelong friends to gaining skills that I use to this day. Some of the days were long but so fulfilling when you see your production completed, your stories posted and printed. As much as I loved it, I used to dread those same day assignments.
One day, we were assigned to cover stories in a particular neighborhood, I think it was Little Italy. I can’t tell you how many times I walked up and down Preston Street to find something to write about or someone to interview. As the deadline approached, my stress level skyrocketed. I eventually found a story but it was after many minutes and hours stressing about it. This one experience shaped my journalism career; it taught me patience and resiliency, it reminded me that there are always stories to be told, that pre-planning can only get you so far. But most of all, it reminded me of this African proverb: By crawling a child learns to stand. The more we get out of our comfort zones and the more we do, especially those hard tasks that seem impossible, the more we gain and grow as professionals and individuals.
Drop me anywhere now and tell me to find a story. I will gladly do so. – Khairoon Abbas (MJ ’09)
Alumni Memories are part of Carleton Journalism’s 75th Anniversary.
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Wednesday, December 16, 2020 in 75th Anniversary - Alumni Memory
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