"What I Learned" Guest Blog by Makayla Wray

Thanks to Makayla for sharing her reflection after Rich Radford's visiting lecture for COMM 495: Public Service Campaigns.

Read more by Makayla here.

Written for COMM 495

Writing is something that I have been passionate about since a young age. I knew that no matter what I did when I grew up, it would involve some form of writing. When Rich Radford came in to talk with us last class he said so much that really gave me a lot of hope. His whole career and how he has made it to where he is currently is something to keep in mind and learn from.

First and foremost, I think it is neat that he used to write about Old Dominion athletics. I was interested in sports journalism because I thought it would be awesome to write about something that I was so passionate about. Although until he mentioned it, I never would’ve thought about how you don’t always get to write about that winning run or how many touchdowns were made during the last quarter. Instead he would have to write about the bad side of the coach that he has known for over ten years and how the rising star football player got arrested. I never thought about the fact that sometimes journalism isn’t always going to be a glorious job and that there will be people that don’t like you because of the stories that you write.

The other very interesting concept that he spoke about was his ability to network. Working for the university and especially with sports it has allowed him to meet a lot of different people. Not only that, but he is a very kind and upfront guy with a friendly face and attitude. This alone has allowed him to meet even more people and build those meaningful relationships that will make people remember him. He said himself that without those people that he met and the connections that he has made he wouldn’t be where he is today, with CHKD.