Expanding my horizons: My time in Oxford this summer

Three years ago, I arrived at Miami University as a finance major fully intent on going into business after graduation.  It didn’t take me long to realize that was not the path for me. 

To fill time during my freshman year, I joined The Miami Student (TMS) and began writing for the sports section. I quickly fell in love with writing and interviewing, and I added journalism as my second major going into my sophomore year. 

Going into my final year as a student in Oxford, I’ve written more than 170 stories for TMS, primarily in the sports section but with a handful of bylines in other sections. 

Despite getting more involved as a journalist, I always held a doubt in my mind that I was going into the wrong career, or that I had waited too long to switch career paths. 

Specifically, I was worried that I would pigeon-hole myself into a sports-writing niche or that people would assume I can only cover football and basketball —nothing more. To be fair, most of my writing by the end of my junior year involved football and basketball, and my experience in writing about local governments and doing event coverage was minimal. 

Imagine my surprise when former editor Sean Scott asked if I wanted to intern as a reporter for the Oxford Free Press. 

I’d only lived in Oxford during the semester, and I’m originally from a medium-sized suburb of Detroit. That, combined with my limited background covering things besides sports, created a lot of uncertainty going into my first week with the Oxford Free Press at the start of June. I didn’t know what kind of stories or beats I would be covering, nor did I know about life in Oxford without the college population. 

After almost 40 bylines with the Oxford Free Press and countless city government meetings and public events Uptown, my appreciation for this small town has grown immensely. 

The most surprising thing about my time this summer was the amount of people I met again and again at various events. From city councilors and commission leaders to local business owners, I would constantly see people out and about after I’ve talked with them. Each time, I was met with a friendly smile and a “good work with the Free Press.”

I learned that the people in this town aren’t just strangers or random locals. In my hometown, you would rarely see the same people at the grocery store or library. In Oxford, everyone is your neighbor. These are all active community members who care about each other and their town. 

Living in Oxford without the thousands of Miami students in town also made me value the peacefulness and tranquility here. For the first time, I could walk Uptown without worrying about a crowd or finding a bench to sit on. I could grab a bagel at Bagel & Deli any time without waiting in a line out the door. I could have a drink at Left Field Tavern and talk with the bartender without bothering him in front of dozens of other patrons. 

Interviewing and meeting people that live here year-round allowed me to understand what drew people to Oxford besides the university. People told me about their upbringings in town, their favorite restaurants and the traditions and celebrations that you can’t find elsewhere. I can’t think of any other town that does an annual, city-wide Fun Hunt entirely run by the participants.

Professionally, I learned I can handle more story types and beats than I thought. More than 100 sports bylines at TMS didn’t lessen my anxiety before my first story on summer camps in the Talawanda School District. I hadn’t felt that nervous about writing something since my first newspaper article.

Over time, I started covering more and more commission meetings and Uptown events. I wrote features on local businesses and profiles on workers in the city, and I even did my first photo gallery. 

I may be primarily a sports reporter, but I can now highlight the summer I spent covering city council meetings, non-profit organizations and festivals. 

I want to thank Sean Scott for offering me the chance to expand my reporting horizons. I also want to thank Aidan Cornue, Katelyn Aluise and Taylor Powers for giving me an unforgettable experience this summer and helping make the Oxford Free Press one of the best local publications around.

Finally, I want to thank everyone in Oxford for letting a sportswriter from Detroit hold the responsibility of reporting in your town. I’m glad that I got to meet so many incredible people in town, and I hope to see these same people again before I graduate in the spring.