What a time to have attended community college in California.
The U.S.’s economy is shaky at best and we are at school trying to get an education for careers that may or may not be there by the time we graduate and get our degrees.
And in my case (journalism) definitely won’t be there.
But whenever I’m feeling discouraged about the future, which is pretty often, I always revert back to what my sophomore history teacher Mr. Pesusich told me about college. “Don’t go for the degree, go for the education,” he said.
When he first said this to me I thought, “What terrible advice.”
But now looking at the state of the economy and the fact that there are going to be fewer careers available after I earn my degree, I now know what Mr. Pesusich meant.
Money and prestige yield some power, but knowledge is the most powerful weapon of all.
With knowledge, one has an ability to excel in multiple fields as opposed to just a degree where a person is confined to a certain field and has to hope for an opening.
And the most important aspect of obtaining knowledge is that you can impress girls!
But seriously, I can honestly say that over the past three years at EC, I have learned more than the previous 18. And most of it has been through this beautiful, irritating, demon of a publication called the Union.
It was such an interesting time to be on a college publication because of all the troubles the colleges are facing with California’s huge cash flow problem.
Going from staff writer to news editor and ending now as the editor-in-chief, I have covered the financial problems of the school at every level.
If I never read, write or hear the word “budget” again, it will be too soon.
But covering all of the terrible and hard news stories about classes being cut and tuition being raised was made a lot easier by the tremendous staff and advisers that helped make this paper something I and EC can be proud of.
Being on a staff with these people has been way more enjoyable than I ever imagined it would be.
I have met and had some of the most amazing and absurd moments of my life with the people on the newspaper; I know I have made life-long friends.
My fellow Unioners and I have laughed, cried and partied very hard together, among other unmentionable things. But we have had so many good times and I am not joking when I say that some of them have taught me some major life lessons.
So even if I have wasted my time becoming a journalism major and newspapers are dead in 10 years, it would have all been worth it, because I’ve learned more than I ever thought I would through the journalism program and have made some great friends.