JEREMY
Veronica
Alarcon
19
February 2013 / Writing Exercise #1
JOU
1100: News Reporting
Orlando – Meet Jeremy Williams, a
33-year-old Valencia College student on his way to pursue an Associate in
Science Degree in Mobile Journalism. Jeremy received his Associate in Arts
Degree last year and is currently the Advertising Director for the Valencia
Voice. Jeremy was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado and moved to Orlando,
Florida at the age of 9.
Jeremy’s influence for pursuing in
Journalism comes from his father, who used to be a big writer of short stories.
Jeremy claims that as a child, he was brought up on reading and writing. Unlike
other families, Jeremy’s family had more books than movies in the house. With
his background, Jeremy thought to himself that journalism was most likely the
safest path in his life to survive off of getting paid for writing.
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JEREMY
2
– 2 – 2
Not only did Jeremy follow in his father’s
footsteps as a writer, but he also joined the Air Force like his father once
did. Jeremy got recruited in February of 2001 and was stationed in Aviano,
Italy. Jeremy’s position in the Air Force was as an Ammunition Systems
Technician, or to better understand, he “built bombs”, which is pretty awesome.
Unfortunately tragedy struck months later when the 9/11 attack occurred.
For a whole month, Jeremy and everyone
else in his station was in “war-mode”, working 12-hour shifts every day. What
made his station location different from everywhere else was that Aviano was
the staging area during the time, which was the location for the Army to gear
up before heading out to Afghanistan.
Overall, Jeremy’s experience in the Air
Force proved to be a personal, social experiment for a gay individual like
himself. He stated that being in the U.S. armed forces was a very surreal and
interesting environment for a liberal person, who he claims to be. Jeremy
mentioned that throughout his experience, he felt like “a sheep in an
aggressive-driven place” or “an outsider in the belly of the beast.”
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JEREMY
3
– 3 – 3
His journey in the Air Force ended due to
the adverse mentality of the place. With the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” Policy
still in tact at the time, Jeremy felt that not being able to express his true
identity was more important to him. He doesn’t regret his time in the Air
Force, as it was a life-changing experience for him and he got the chance to
shoot a gun for the first time in his life.
Jeremy Williams has had many experiences
in his life, whether they are good or bad, but that’s what makes him who he is
today and who he wants to be. After graduating from Valencia College, Jeremy
plans to become a News Producer for a news station like some of his favorite programs
such as CNN’s Anderson Cooper or HBO’s The News Room. With the ambition and
determination he has, there is nothing stopping him from reaching his goal.
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