Giant corn stalks grew from the backyard of my dorm. The local pastime included drunken frat boys on hayrides. My academic advisor told me I’d never make it at the J School. Could I survive Missouri?
Aug. 27, 2001
By José Alfredo Flores
Chipster '00
After three-and-one-half years of hard work, I finally graduated from the world-renown School of Journalism at the University of Missouri-Columbia, with a bachelor's degree in journalism, Magna Cum Laude.
I am especially proud of the accomplishment considering my academic adviser once told me I should consider changing my major from journalism to communications. At the time, I was a sophomore struggling to get the grades needed to enter the School of Journalism.
I wanted to prove my adviser wrong – not only by gaining acceptance to the J School, not only
by graduating from the school, but by finishing with the highest honors among students in the news-editorial sequence.
Hard work and persistence paid off.
I had made many sacrifices in order to go to school in Missouri. I had to move from my hometown, the multicultural mecca that is Washington, D.C., to the homogenous, near-rural surroundings of Columbia, Mo.
Giant corn stalks grew from the backyard of my freshman-year dorm. I soon learned that local pastimes included the strange ritual of hayriding, where drunken frat boys and sorority girls ride in the back of fast moving pickup trucks filled with hay. I got used to words like "Pop" and "Fixin' to."
Not very many people knew how to pronounce Jose (Ho-Say), usually opting for "Josie."
Instead of settling for my un-diverse surroundings, I tried to share my knowledge of the outside world, which included going to high school at Washington International School, where 100 countries were represented among the school's 600 students.
I became active in MU's Latin American Students Association, serving as the club's DJ during social events. I also played Latin music at local night clubs during select Latin Nights and brought my music to the airwaves by serving as host of KCOU 88.1 FM "5 Billion
Voices," the only international music program in Columbia, Mo.
I made friends with the few minorities that were on campus, but also made some great friendships with Caucasians. But I was reminded that I was "a minority" each day I was there. People mispronouncing my name. People always asking where I was from, and if
I spoke English. Being the only journalist of color among media members covering numerous sporting events.
At the same time, it was intimidating competing with arguably some of the most talented student journalists in the country. Since Missouri founded the world's first School of Journalism in 1839, the school has produced the most journalists –and among the most distinguished -- of any institution. The alumni of the school, affectionately called the Missouri Mafia, include Jim Lehrer, host of The NewsHour; Neil Amdur, sports editor of the New York Times; Elizabeth Vargas of ABC News, and our least-likely broadcast graduate, Brad Pitt.
But I kept my cool, reporting and serving as sports editor for both student newspapers, and copy editing and covering sports for both daily newspapers. (FYI: Columbia, Mo. is the smallest U.S. market with two competing daily newspapers.) By the end of my four years, it’s safe to say that just about everyone involved in sports in town knew of me. Subsequently, I was a frequently
invited guest on local sports talk shows. Who knew that I would obtain semi-celebrity status? Certainly not my academic advisor.
But I leave that behind for bigger and better things. I returned to Washington last month to work part-time covering the Washington Freedom of the newly formed WUSA women's soccer league for internetsoccer.com. I will also intern for Newhouse News Service, reporting for the National Desk.
In the meantime I will continue to send out resumes, continue to search for job openings in my hometown, using the contacts I've met at the NAHJ conventions I've been to and people I've met through the Chips Quinn Scholars Program. I will be talking to the Washington papers soon.
When I began studying at Missouri I had one goal: to return to Washington as a print journalist covering my hometown sports teams. I never imagined I would be covering a brand new women's soccer team for a dot com and covering politics for a newspaper chain's Washington bureau.
But I can proudly say one thing about my goal: Mission accomplished.
Reach José Alfredo Flores (Summer ‘00) at flores78@yahoo.com.
