Annnnnd that's a wrap: I graduated!

Four years ago I clutched my Leaving Certificate results in my hand, hoping and praying all my hard work had paid off.

I desperately wanted to study Journalism and New Media in Limerick but, with the points set to increase, I had an agonising wait to see if I had got it or not. A few days later I happily clicked ‘accept’ on my CAO form. I was officially Limerick bound!

Officially a qualified journalist.

Four years later and it’s hard to believe my college experience is over. As cliché and all as it sounds, time really does fly and last week I graduated!

I spent a lot of time in fourth year wishing the year would hurry up and end. I couldn’t wait to be finished my final year project, assignments, exams and all the stress that goes hand in hand with it. I was more than ready for the stress of college life to be over. I was ready to go out into the real world and be an adult.

But the night before my graduation, with the big day literally only a few hours away, I had a scary thought. I suddenly realised there was just one small problem with my single-mindedness. Once I donned my cap and gown that was it; the safety net of education, which I have known for the last 18 years, would suddenly be gone.

And with the economy still looking more like a rollercoaster and less like smooth sailing it’s no wonder I’m slightly anxious. I have nothing concrete lined up. I’m all dressed up with no place to go. No place to interview.

Every so often I find myself thinking these negative thoughts, which are made all the worse by people constantly asking me what exactly I’m doing with my life and when am I going to get a real job and stop working part-time pulling 99’s. The truth is I don’t know. I’m really not sure. I’m still figuring this whole life thing out.

When the not-so-positive thoughts don’t creep in I’m confident. Confident I’ll get a job in my chosen field and confident that things will work themselves out. I’m pretty sure something will come up. In some shape or form. I’m just not sure how long it will take…

Waving goodbye after four great years.

The President of UL, Professor Don Barry, reminded me of all this during his speech at the graduation. He reminded us how proud we should be for getting this far and achieving a third level qualification and, more importantly perhaps for those of us with nothing solid lined up, reminded us that things always have a way of working themselves out. He said we must “never, ever let anyone tarnish our spark”. Wise words from a wise man.

So, with that in mind, I’m not so much nervous about the future as I am curious.

College life was (so far!) the best four years of my life, but I’m ready for the next chapter now.

All I can say is bring it on!

Limerick Voice comes to an end

And that’s a wrap!

The Limerick Voice has finally been put to bed. After several disagreements, numerous late nights and too many cups of coffee, the 2014 edition of The Limerick Voice is finished. And what a journey it’s been.

There have been highs and there have been lows but I am extremely proud of what we have achieved in this edition of the Limerick Voice. The dedication, talent and commitment shown by my classmates in both the BA and MA class, combined with the guidance and assistance from our lecturers, has to be commended and I feel honoured to work alongside such creative and talented people.

The experience of researching, investigating, interviewing, reporting, designing and publishing a newspaper has been invaluable. It is an experience no classroom or no lecturer could ever teach. I have gained experience I know will stand the test of time and build on making me a better journalist and for that I will be forever thankful.

My previous work placement in The Munster Express definitely helped me as I set out trying to make contacts, organise interviews and schedule photographs. The buzz of searching communities for stories, speaking to local people and visiting new places was all part and parcel of my Limerick Voice experience and one I enjoyed and benefited from very much. The thrill of putting pen to paper, (or perhaps keyboard to Microsoft Word as the case may be) and finally seeing my stories come alive on a page is a just reward for weeks of hard work.

Working as deputy news editor proved slightly more stressful than I had imagined but, in hindsight I am glad I accepted the role. Assigning stories, keeping track of different people’s articles, watching stories develop or fold, subbing copy and giving a helping hand has been an honour and an experience I know will make me a better journalist.

At times the production of The Limerick Voice was challenging and frustrating and, as with all group projects, there are always people who pull their weight more than others. This project (unfortunately) was no exception.

As is the nature of journalism there are times where you will work hard and put a significant amount of time into a story only to find out it has been cut. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed when I scanned through the newspaper last Thursday morning and failed to find one of my articles. It was a story I had assigned myself from the very beginning of the project and I was committed to getting it done. It took me weeks to get in touch with the source I needed to speak to and when I did (eventually) write up the article I felt it was a solid news story. To put time and work into an article and to then have it cast aside is disheartening but I am aware that this does happen in newsrooms.

As we neared the end of the Limerick Voice tensions were high and, at times, there was a lot of negativity both in the newsroom and at meetings. Although this is understandable I found it stressful and discouraging working in a negative environment. In saying that, no teamwork project would be complete without a couple of arguments. Coming out the other side of these disagreements is the main thing and, thankfully, we made it! Despite maybe wanting to throw the Mac out the window in frustration or scream at the top of my lungs when things went wrong, I wouldn’t have wanted to work with any other group of people. Although things seemed touch and go for a week or two, everything worked out perfectly in the end. As it always does. And we produced a pretty amazing paper too!

To next year’s class: I don’t envy you trying to top this edition of the Limerick Voice. It’ll be a challenge that’s for sure but a little bit of determination and a lot of hard work can go a long way. Best of luck!