Student Stories
Alex Pyles
Making Connections
My professors have become my most trusted advisors. Dr. Jason Loviglio and Professor Christopher Corbett have already had a
major impact on me. Both have shown confidence in my abilities, nurtured my talents and offered valuable guidance in mapping
out my undergraduate career. The passion each of these professors shows for their profession
forces the student to be excited about the material, and interested to learn.
I have been able to further the writing and critical analysis skills that I have been honing in my classes by working for the UMBC's student newspaper, The Retriever Weekly. Through the repetition of writing multiple articles each week, I can learn what my strengths are as a writer, and how to best display those points.
Professor Corbett, the advisor for The Retriever Weekly, used his connections at The Baltimore Sun to get me started at an internship in the sports department there. The internship has allowed me to see the inner workings of a major newspaper; specifically, I see how deadlines affect publication, and the rigorous process through which each and every block of text is edited. I have had also had the opportunity to speak with editors and reporters, and feel as if I have reached a higher level of knowledge regarding what I need to do in order to be successful in journalism.
Alex is majoring in English literature and media and communication studies with a minor in journalism. He would like to work in print journalism at a daily newspaper.
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