ShelliAdamczyk

As journalists, it is our responsibility to talk to those whose stories need to be told, find the truth and spread that information in order to attempt to create better connected communities. Every day in the field I try to follow that philosophy and my experiences have helped me do that.

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I put much emphasis on making personal connections with people around me and take pride in telling their stories through their eyes, memories, voice and emotion. I only hope I can aways portray their stories the right way and do whatever I can as a reporter to show and tell the audience the message, call to action if necessary and/or tell the story and facts. Through audio and video and the characters in the stories, I pride myself on my storytelling techniques. 

 

Studying abroad in Perth, Australia and traveling to Fiji, Indonesia and New Zealand I was able to be absorbed in the culture and understand a life style much different than what I knew. This new experience helped me be open to new ideas and influences, but still form opinions of my own. My studies abroad gave me a new, amazing perspective on life, whether it was camping in the Outback and visiting an aboriginal camp, or barefoot hiking in the Rainforest with a small Fijian community.

 

My trip to five Southern states to report on the Civil Rights' movement opened my eyes to history I had only read in books. Meeting women and men who were on the front lines of the movement, allowed me to see how real racism is; something I hadn’t experienced in my 21 years in Wisconsin. Walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge with a woman who took those steps nearly a half century ago on what’s now known as “Bloody Sunday” was an experience I will never forget. One of the many unforgettable moments that have helped me when trying to comprehend the weeks following the shooting death of nine people in a Charleston Church prayer service and the removal of a significant symbol some say has defined racism in the South. 

 

These experiences have helped me better see and understand the world. They’ve helped me to not only tell my story, but the stories of thousands who I have encountered. These stories and those of many more to come are what define me as a reporter.