By Deron Dalton
A year ago I was writing clickbait and becoming more frustrated each day by the lack of meaning in some of my work.
Little did I know a year later that my thesis and practicum project would have just as much of an impact on me as it has on Black Lives Matter. I became woke, meaning my coverage of BLM helped me stay informed and be able to develop critical analyses on these racial justice issues.
In November 2015, I attended a New York Association of Black Journalists general body meeting hosted by the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. There, admissions talked a new M.A. program in social journalism.
When my frustration hit an all time high and my budding career was at a standstill, I decided to pivot in December 2014. I became determined to further my education in journalism. I wanted to make sure no one else could ever deny the amount of passion, talent and hard work that I exemplify in my skill set. I wanted to be a new media force to be reckoned with, and the innovative principles of social journalism were going to help me get there.
Between Thursday, Dec. 4 and Thursday, Dec. 18, I started the admissions process and got in a year ago on the date that my cohort is graduating this year. BOOM, we did that! I did this amazing program… in a year.
I came into this program with two end goals: I wanted to be a social media/engagement editor upon its completion, and I wanted my work to have a deeper meaning. For the latter goal, I had no idea that deeper meaning would result in human impact. It became something much larger than me.
Read more via BLK Social Journalist on Medium.