Female journalists are currently paving new paths in today’s world of sports, and News-Editorial Journalism junior Samantha Kiesel hopes to land amongst the ranks women who are responsible for paving this path. After working for the Daily Illini for the past two years, Kiesel is working her way up the professional ladder, scoring an impressive DI gig for next year, as well as a rocking summer internship for the Daily Herald.
What are your previous experiences in journalism?
I’ve worked at the Daily Illini since the first semester of my freshman year. That’s pretty much what got me involved in everything. I then became the Sports Assistant Editor in March of my freshman year and I did that for a year. Then, I reported on the women’s tennis team to finish out my sophomore year.
Tell me a little bit about your Daily Illini job next year? Â
I am going to be the women’s volleyball reporter for the fall semester. I will then switch sports and report for the men’s basketball team for the DI. I’ll be doing both of those sports with one other reporter and for men’s basketball there will be two reporters and a columnist.
What are you most excited for about your new position?
I am really excited for volleyball because the team has such a great reputation and I feel like there will be a lot of really good stories that can come out of them. I have a lot of expectations to live up to because the reporters on this beat last year did an excellent job covering it. For basketball, I’m just really excited for the professional atmosphere. It’s one of the few college sports where a lot of other journalists from big papers are involved so it’s very cool for me to have this opportunity. Plus I have floor seats to every basketball game which is awesome! I just have to remember to not be a fan; I will be considered an unbiased reporter and I will take that very seriously.
What is your internship this summer? How did you get it? How’s it going? What are your duties?
This summer I have an internship with the Daily Herald, a paper in the Chicagoland area. They have a bunch of different bureaus so I’m located in the one in Elgin. It’s a full on reporting internship so I’ve been reporting around for the tri-city area. So far it has been mostly festivals and event preview stories I’m working on. I also help any other reporters with sidebars or any calls they need help with. I have written two stories so far and it has been really awesome!
What are your hopes career-wise for the future?
For the future I want to work as a sports journalist. To be honest, I just want a job coming out of college so I won’t be picky at all. I ultimately would like to be a beat reporter on a major professional sport like baseball or basketball. I would also love to write for a major Division one school, but to work in sports for a major city newspaper is the general goal at the moment.
Her Campus wishes you the best of luck this summer, and we can’t wait to follow your beats on the (hopefully) winning teams next year!