Kelly Fisher - interview by Kate Hiller

We've all heard the saying "reduce, reuse and recycle" before, but for freshman journalism student Kelly Fisher, it means much more. Before coming to Ohio University, she was a four-year member of Solon High School's environmental club. 

Fisher signed up for the Lorax club as a freshman at her high school's annual club fair. She later applied to be an officer and spent her sophomore, junior and senior years as an officer for the club. Unlike a typical president, vice president, secretary, treasurer set up, Fisher says that the Lorax club's officers didn't have specific titles or responsibilities. Instead, officers shared responsibilities based on availability and interest. 

Despite the break from the typical power structure of a club, Fisher says that being an officer for the Lorax club helped her to gain leadership skills, practice responsibility and become more environmentally conscious. 

She says that the Lorax club…

(Quote)

"…taught me a lot about being environmentally friendly, making better choices and things like that. I got my roommates to start recycling this year!"

(End quote)

Not only did Fisher reap the benefits of being an officer, but she also enjoyed the experience of working with and getting to know other club members through activities ranging from tie-dyeing t-shirts to working on educational campaigns to get other students at Solon involved. 

(Quote)

"You don't have to fit the "tree-hugger" stereotype to help the environment - even just recycling helps."

(End quote) Fisher says. 

The Real Branden Labarowski By: Kelsey Miller

When you look at Branden (L-ah-brow-ski),18, you automatically notice his infectious personality and the pep in his step.  The more you are around him, the more you sense his passion for writing, his way with words, and his overall confidence.

What you may not know about Branden is all of the internal conflicts he battles everyday.  When he rolls out of bed in the morning and looks in the mirror, Labarowski doesn't see the confidence that the rest of us see, but rather a self conscious, and very confused young man.

A self-proclaimed "geek" in grade school, Labarowski wanted a different image when he moved from a class of 12 to a class of 8-hundred in the start of his high school career.  "I found myself looking at different Facebook pages of people that I wanted to be like and studied what they would post and what kind of pictures they would upload," says Labarowski, "[In high school] I found myself acting more passive-aggressive and expecting people to approach me."

He also has doubts about his future.  He feels pressured into trying to please everyone about his career plans.  Because his first love is news writing, he feels that success will be hard in "a world where everyone says press is dying," he explains.  He expresses his concerns of how he thinks he isn't enough of a leader or that he isn't doing enough or doing anything right in college.

Although when asked if he would change anything in his high school years, Labarowski quickly denied. "Here in this college environment, I feel more ready than ever to get more involved, meet new people, and become more comfortable in my own skin.  And I already feel I have made more leaps and bounds to doing that."

Branden Labarowski, like the rest of us, is by no means perfect; but it goes to show you that even the most confident appearance has its issues as well.

Following A Role Model

Nearly everyone has someone who has influenced their life. Someone they would call their role model. For Ohio University student Olivia Hitchcock, this is her Grandpa James.

James Hitchcock was a hard-working Professor at Wright State University. Being a very intelligent man, James won several awards and recognition for his work. But he never bragged. He was a very humble person, and that’s what Olivia respected most about him.

When describing her grandpa as her role model, Olivia says

(quote)

“He was just so humble, and that is just something I really strive for in my life”

(end quote)

And that is exactly what Olivia has achieved. This young girl is an honors tutorial college student studying journalism. She was in the top rankings of her high school and received an impressive GPA. But you won’t hear any of this from her. She demonstrates unwavering humility.

Olivia also received the hard-working gene from her grandpa. Working diligently at school, activities and community service, Olivia gives her all. This is not to mention the dedication and support she gives to her family now.

Sadly, James passed away when Olivia was a young middle school student. But she still remembers him fondly. 

Olivia described one of these memories by saying

(quote)

“He was an avid gardener so in my grandparents back yard they had the huge bushes and they grew a ton of raspberries… There are so many pictures of me with the curly hair running around with grandpa collecting raspberries and, I mean, that’s probably what I miss the most. “

(end quote)

Olivia has a bright future to look forward to. From her hard-work to her humility, Olivia has inherited much from her role model. 

Tim Carrico Interview By: Allison O'Brien

While most of us strive to eventually work as a news anchor, Tim Carrico achieved this goal at the young age of 10 years old. He started at a state- wide show called Kids News that aired on CBS and NBC affiliates across the state.  He says with his early start into media, he was quickly “bit by the news bug.”  Tim says he “was exposed to a small portion of television news and broadcast and he felt that it was the career path he needed to take.”

With success also came failure as the show was cancelled just one year later because of the lack of money to hire a producer.  Although it was extremely discouraging, Tim never gave up and started interning for the local CBS and Fox new stations.  He then began climbing the broadcast ladder starting as a camera - man and then a reporter and eventually a producer.  “It was neat to be a camera – man and producer, but being a reporter was my favorite,” says Carrico. “I got to meet a lot of interesting people and really become the face of 59 News.”

After years of hard work, Carrico achieved his ultimate goal of broadcasting: becoming the weekend anchor for the local CBS and Fox stations.  His greatest achievement was bringing the eyes of the world to Southern West Virginia in his coverage of the Upper Big Branch coalmine explosion that took the lives of 29 miners.  Carrico says: “As a reporter we all hope for the big story, but this story truly made it a reality. Meeting the family and friends of the deceased showed me the tough sides of reporting that were sad, but necessary.”

Tim was forced to grow up faster than most of us, being given such an adult responsibility at a very young age.   It truly gave him the jump-start he needed to further his career as a news anchor. 

Allison O'Brien Interview - By: Tim Carrico

Allison O’Brien is your typical teenage college student. But she’s overcome leaps and bounds that many 18 year-olds will never experience.

O’Brien suffered from a mild case of scoliosis. During her first year of high school, 23 hours a day consisted of wearing a back brace to help her overcome this debilitating issue…and she says wearing the brace brought pain and suffering, but says it could’ve been a lot worse.

“The brace was really constrictive on my ribs, but I know a lot of worse things could have happened to me, said O’Brien.”

Prior to being diagnosed with scoliosis O’Brien played softball in Cincinnati since the tee-ball era. But while other girls her age were on the out on the diamond playing, Allison was stuck watching from the sidelines.

“Wearing the brace made it so that I never had the chance to try out for the softball team. It was really difficult to watch a team, that I was not apart of.”

Even though O’Brien was benched for several seasons. She always found a positive side to her disease. She says working towards the goal of removing the brace turned out to be a homerun in the end.

“Do what the doctors tell you to. Feeling sorry for yourself will not make the pain go away. If you do what the doctors say, you will be able to overcome it and be able to get the brace off a lot sooner.” 

Interviews and OMG, what's my lede?

This is one in an occasional series of thoughts I'll write about the JFresh.


I just had a great conversation with a JFresh4 who was telling me about their interview... s/he knew all about their interviewee's family... but I asked, "And so?"

Hmmm.  You see, this isn't only about the family as much as it is about the person sitting in class with you... the subject of your interview... the interviewee.

I asked what else had been asked - but s/he thought for a moment and acknowledged, well, "It was all fairly "safe" stuff."

And I asked, "What's your lede then about your interviewee?" 

There was a pause. 

Hmmm. 

You see this little assignment isn't so much about the safe things... rather you should probe, attack, strategically think to yourself what it is that you want to know that's different, provocative, unexpected... what's this person think or what might be hiding under the surface?

You're a bit of a detective and archaeologist.  And most of all - from what you learn you will become a story teller.

Find out and then tell us something about they way this person thinks or ticks, or gives them pleasure, or frightens them, or makes the hair on the back of their neck go stiff when they're happy or excited?  Why do they think/act this way?  What do they know that makes them the interesting/attractive/dynamic/ordinary/cute/appealing/intriguing person they are?

If, after the interview, you don't see a clear lede, go back, look at your notes and ask yourself if you did a good enough job?


Here's a question, maybe more of a riddle.

After the interview(s) you've conducted if you're having difficulty determining a good, strong, compelling lede imagine what is the next worst thing to happen?

Answer: It is imagining what you'll write as the first sentence of the next paragraph!!

And we've all been there... so don't despair.  Be compelling. Be strong.  Be a story teller.

Word play

Happy weekend campers.

This post has nothing to do with anything except to indulge my own amusement on the endless subject of wordplay.

I think this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0HfwkArpvU is fantastic... if you havent watched it (only a few minutes) you ought to right now!
It was made by talented folk at NPR and their avant garde partners Radiolab.  Watch it twice to dissect how brilliantly it was created.

Then for your Sunday amusement... I am sharing this list of words taken from Shakespearean drama... there is a caveat!  You may not practice using this list on any telephone call to your parents or in description of either Sally Ann or me.

To create a Shakespearean insult... (grab a dictionary!)
Combine one word from each of the three columns below,
prefaced with "Thou":

        Column 1            Column 2                Column 3

        artless             base-court              apple-john
        bawdy               bat-fowling             baggage
        beslubbering        beef-witted             barnacle
        bootless            beetle-headed           bladder
        churlish            boil-brained            boar-pig
        cockered            clapper-clawed          bugbear
        clouted             clay-brained            bum-bailey
        craven              common-kissing          canker-blossom
        currish             crook-pated             clack-dish
        dankish             dismal-dreaming         clotpole
        dissembling         dizzy-eyed              coxcomb
        droning             doghearted              codpiece
        errant              dread-bolted            death-token
        fawning             earth-vexing            dewberry
        fobbing             elf-skinned             flap-dragon
        froward             fat-kidneyed            flax-wench
        frothy              fen-sucked              flirt-gill
        gleeking            flap-mouthed            foot-licker
        goatish             fly-bitten              fustilarian
        gorbellied          folly-fallen            giglet
        impertinent         fool-born               gudgeon
        infectious          full-gorged             haggard
        jarring             guts-griping            harpy
        loggerheaded        half-faced              hedge-pig
        lumpish             hasty-witted            horn-beast
        mammering           hedge-born              hugger-mugger
        mangled             hell-hated              joithead
        mewling             idle-headed             lewdster
        paunchy             ill-breeding            lout
        pribbling           ill-nurtured            maggot-pie
        puking              knotty-pated            malt-worm
        puny                milk-livered            mammet
        qualling            motley-minded           measle
        rank                onion-eyed              minnow
        reeky               plume-plucked           miscreant
        roguish             pottle-deep             moldwarp
        ruttish             pox-marked              mumble-news
        saucy               reeling-ripe            nut-hook
        spleeny             rough-hewn              pigeon-egg
        spongy              rude-growing            pignut
        surly               rump-fed                puttock
        tottering           shard-borne             pumpion
        unmuzzled           sheep-biting            ratsbane
        vain                spur-galled             scut
        venomed             swag-bellied            skainsmate
        villainous          tardy-gaited            strumpet
        warped              tickle-brained          varlot
        wayward             toad-spotted            vassal
        weedy               unchin-snouted          whey-face
        yeasty              weather-bitten          wagtail

Have a great Sunday everyone.

Peter