Meet Sami! Through her involvement with the CJ Department, she spent January in Washington D.C. for a three-week internship at The Washington Post as UW-Eau Claire’s 20th Ann Devroy Fellow. She also has made connections with local journalists through the department and has been working at the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram for the last two and a half years. She is part of the group of journalists working on the ongoing Civil Conversations reporting project and also has an internship content writing for a local skincare start-up called Melnaturel.
“Although it took me a little longer to discover my passion for journalism, I’m so glad I did,” West said. It all started when she joined The Spectator as a first year student, taking on an editing role after that first semester. Because of her involvement and success on the student newspaper, she decided to pursue journalism. She became editor-in-chief of The Spectator last spring after five semesters of involvement. West said she is thankful for and honored to work with her mentor Jan Larson as well as other CJ faculty and staff through the years.
“Not only did my experience at The Spectator lead me to a future in journalism, but it also led me to further understanding who I am and the person I wish to be,” West said. “Although I’d always enjoyed reading, writing, books and the news, I spent my whole life thinking I wanted to become a teacher. Through the CJ department, I realized journalism is my passion and, in some respects, is a form of teaching in itself. Journalists seek the truth endlessly and tell stories to inform the public of these truths they may not have been otherwise aware of — I’m so glad to be part of that.”
UW-Eau Claire 