Why I chose to write for The Tab JMU
(and you should, too)
In January 2017, I checked my student email, and among the spam from Unidays, Packsaddle Golf Ridge and various campus clubs was an email titled "Opportunity with The Tab JMU". I was a sophomore at that point, and had read and shared many articles from The Tab, and was an active writer for The Odyssey JMU. Sarah, our New York-based editor at the time, had read some of my Odyssey articles and decided she wanted me on her JMU Tab Team.
My most successful Odyssey article
Sarah told me that The Tab was more news-based, rather than op-ed focused. I'm not a journalism major, but the idea of hunting down stories appealed to me a lot more than writing listicles did. So I responded to her, and a few days later was put in contact with our campus editor, Megan. We bonded quickly and to this day I'm happy to call her one of my closest friends.
This is Megan and I love her
In eight months writing for The Tab, I have taken over as JMU's Campus Editor, I have earned nearly 50,000 views and 12,000 shares on my articles. I have to admit, the validation is freaking amazing. Like, there are people other than my mom reading my work? What? And they think it's good enough to repost?! It's been good for my ego, for sure. Plus, I'm gaining amazing editing, leading, and marketing experience that has really beefed up my resume.
However, the best part of writing for The Tab, in my opinion, is the connections I've made with people. I have to communicate with members of the New York City staff almost daily, and I'm always reaching out to people for stories–my team, potential leads, interviewees, any and all witnesses I can find. It's brought me closer to people, made me less scared of social interaction (shout-out to anxiety!) and made me a better writer, interviewer, and investigator.
Now there's no way you're not interested in this after my story. If you want to flex your journalism skills and seek out online validation (and new friends), go to Rosebud and fill out an application! If you have any questions, feel free to email me at [email protected]. I'd love to have you on my team.