When I am asked what I like about working at Ohio State, I could provide any number of reasons from incredible students, to brilliant coworkers, to endless opportunities and inspirational leadership.
Instead, I glance down for the answer to my left wrist.
It’s there I wear a thin silver wrap band engraved with these four words from our alma mater, Carmen Ohio: “How Firm Thy Friendship.” To me, that phrase sum up all that makes our Ohio State journalism such an extraordinary experience for students and faculty alike, for our success comes in the bonds we build and forge in the fire of learning–bonds that last far beyond our time in class.
I have been a Buckeye since 1998 when I came to Ohio State to pursue a master’s degree. I signed on as a lecturer in magazine writing in 2004 while working as a magazine editor, and the more I taught, the more I loved it. When in 2010 I received a one line email from then school director Carroll Glynn asking, “Would you like to teach full time,” I could not say yes fast enough.
My longevity means I was here when we had a School of Journalism, a School of Journalism and Communication, and now a School of Communication. I worried, as many alum did, what effect the merger would have on our mission to produce quality journalism students who were ready for the real reporting world.
But in the years since I have joined the faculty, serving as an assistant professor on the clinical track since 2012, I have seen an unequalled commitment, leading to student growth and experiences unequalled in many other journalism programs. The size of our program means we provide quality and personalization. We allow students in many ways to choose their own adventure, providing access to experiences few other schools can—from reporting on national politics to meeting with policy and thought leaders, to covering top-level sports.
We have extraordinary partnership with scientists, medical professionals, law enforcement, policy makers and sports figures, who all join with us in our quest to provide the best possible education for future communicators. Our students get to cover a city from the safety of college, which means they are accountable to the real world, but we provide a safety net to catch them when mistakes are made. That means they have few surprises or weaknesses when they enter the workforce.
The Lantern builds bonds that last a lifetime, as colleagues and coworkers become friends, and the graduates from one generation are the mentors of the generation to come.
When each generation is are ready to launch, to head out to their lives in reporting or elsewhere, they know we are always there for them to guide them through challenges, connect them with opportunity and, best of all, celebrate their successes.
All Ohio State students, faculty and alums know when they sing the words of our alma mater that they are part of something far bigger than themselves. But our students know from that one phrase, “How firm thy friendship,” that the journalism friendships they build during their days at Ohio State are truly a family to last a lifetime.
O-Hi-O.
