The catalyst behind my passion for journalism and why I embrace the field | Molly Wilhelm

While my path to journalism hasn't always been clear, my love for writing has been a constant companion since childhood.

At the age of eight, you could find me tucked away in my bedroom after school, penning lyrics into a light blue notebook covered in Lisa Frank stickers. Reading those lyrics back now, you would've thought elementary school me had experienced the heartbreak of a high school teenager 6 years too soon -- channeling the teenage angst of my 14-year-old sister as if it were my own.

Writing began as a way to empathize with the experience of my family members and progressed into a means for me to connect with people universally. Fourteen years later, working as the public safety and trending topics reporter for the StarNews, I've come to recognize one enduring truth: Words matter -- a lot.

Before college, my academic path always led me to writing-focused courses. I was drawn to creative writing classes where I could experiment with poetry, English classes that delved into the analysis of timeless literature, and choir classes that transported me into the lyrical worlds of writers around the globe.

My passion for writing persisted into college, and during my sophomore year, I found myself enrolled in the 'Introduction to News Writing and Reporting' course at The George Washington University. My professor Keith Harriston, a former beat reporter and editor for The Washington Post, was inspiring, humorous, and unapologetically blunt.

Despite the semester being conducted virtually due to the COVID pandemic, I found myself fully immersed and engaged, even through the confines of a computer screen. It was also my introduction to the art of 'less is more' -- sentences slashed with a bold red line from my assignments to meet strict word limits. It's a lesson I'm still mastering, and my editor would likely agree that sometimes I still find myself engaged in a wordy tug-of-war.

After that course, I applied to my university's School of Media and Public Affairs, and I was elated when I got my acceptance letter. From that moment on, I had the privilege to learn from a multitude of seasoned professionals in the journalism industry, including several remarkable professors to whom I feel immensely grateful for.

Many of these professors instilled in me the understanding that while words carry immense weight, becoming a reporter encompasses far more than merely taking a pen to paper.

Jesse Holland, former race and ethnicity reporter at AP News, instilled in me the lesson of empathetic interviewing, emphasizing the cruciality of compassion. Steven Roberts, with a 25-year career at the New York Times under his belt, taught me journalistic ethics, highlighting that it's not just what you say, but understanding when to say it and why. Imani Cheers, a contributor to BBC, underscored the necessity of diversifying sources, challenging students to ask themselves whose voices have yet to be heard and how can they be included? Rebekah Tromble and Ethan Porter, in an oversimplified nutshell, taught me that it isn't just words, but real-world numbers that matter too.

When I tell people what I do for work, I often get asked "what initially sparked your interest in journalism?" While my usual answer is a quick reciting of my passion for writing and that pivotal sophomore year class, I believe the deeper answer lies in everything that continues to captivate me about this field since I first drafted a headline in a blank Word document four years ago.

Reporting undoubtedly revolves around writing -- something I've inexplicably loved since I could first pick up a pen. But reporting is also the moments of laughter over a phone call with a source, the brief exchange of smiles and sideline chats with community members at local events, emails from readers expressing a thanks or offering constructive criticism, and the back-and-forths with an editor, who perhaps entered the very same field for an entirely different reason.

While it was the allure of the power of words that first caused me to branch out into the realm of journalism, it has always been the people who breathe life into those words that make me want to stay rooted in this industry.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington StarNews reporter Molly Wilhelm has love for journalism