'With your lessons, and our voices, we are ready'
By Chuanpis Santilukka
12.16.02
Chuanpis Santilukka, a fellow in the second Diversity Institute session, spoke at her group's Dec. 12, 2002, graduation on behalf of her classmates. Santilukka, a lawyer, is headed to The Times in St. Cloud, Minn., as a reporter.
Three months ago nine fellows met for the first time as a class, and we introduced ourselves to each other. We were asked to tell something about ourselves that wasn’t in the biographies that everyone had already read, and we learned that:
Maria likes movies.
Denyse’s preacher is her sister.
When Shawn was in grade school he challenged a teacher’s mistaken assumption about his heritage.
Romano’s best friend is his former wife.
Annette likes to dance.
Nancy likes pro football.
Loresha has three kids.
Gwendolyn has traveled extensively.
And I’ve spent some time in South Africa.
Although the tidbits we chose to share were all different, that day we began our journey together with the one thing we all knew we had in common: our desire to tell stories of interest.
With that one common characteristic, we gave ourselves over to this program and opened ourselves to absorbing everything that we were taught.
We were told that we’d be challenged.
We were told that we’d be pushed.
We were told that we’d be stretched.
And we were.
Over the next 12 weeks, Robbie, Wanda, and Victor taught us how to mold ourselves into the journalists we aspired to be.
In addition to learning the fundamentals of journalism, we learned more about what it entails: we learned that journalism is about more than writing - it’s also about reporting, and participating, and understanding the community.
We learned how to challenge each other by debating war and politics; we learned how to read a paper by critiquing newspapers over, and over, and over, and over.
We honed our writing skills by reporting on meetings; we learned to be objective by writing on such events as the debate between a white nationalist and an anti-racist activist; and we learned sound news judgment by discussing the newsworthiness of the Titans’ coach’s facial hair.
We learned about the value of the First Amendment; we learned to lay down an ethical foundation for ourselves; we learned how to ask questions; and we learned more about ourselves and each other.
Maria is an artist.
Denyse talks to her family almost every day.
Gwendolyn likes to sing.
Annette is an early riser.
Shawn likes to walk — quickly — everywhere.
Romano likes beer.
Nancy is a news junkie.
Loresha and I love Applebee’s steaks.
We also learned that each of us is opinionated. We constantly talked about how things could be better: in the news, in our stories, in our lives, and in the classroom.
We shared our insecurities about our writing, our progress, and embarking on a new career. But we also shared our successes — our reporting on interesting topics such as a black country music star; our persistence in revising our stories even though at times we never wanted to see them again; our ability to inspire others, such as the day Annette challenged an entire room of editors to bring this program to their own newspapers; and today, we celebrate together our ability to graduate from this program.
We couldn’t have made it to this point, obviously, without teachers. I think we all expected to learn, but we had no idea that learning would be both personally and professionally challenging, and fun, and rewarding. We’d like to thank everyone who has made our success possible.
Robbie, you took us under your wing. You taught the fundamentals of this profession in a manner that was both inspiring and thought-provoking. Simple subjects that seemed boring and mundane became multi-faceted and complicated when you presented them. You taught us how to write, and you taught us how to bring our identities and our voices to a newsroom — all the while maintaining our values. We can’t begin to tell you how much we appreciate what you’ve done.
Wanda — you are the glue that holds this program together and the bridge between aspiring reporters and available newspapers. We are so grateful to you for the efforts you’ve put into the Institute, and the investment you made in us when you allowed us to come here. Thanks, also, for the home-cooked meals and countless other times you provided good food for us.
Victor — you came and brought not only a fresh face here, but also a fresh perspective on the news and on our writing. With you here, and in partnership with Robbie, the progress we were making increased tenfold. You also rapped a song to us - something I don’t think I will ever see a teacher do again. Please remember us when you are signed to your first record label.
Yvette — in addition to feeding our minds, you fed our bodies and nurtured our spirits. Thank you for taking care of us in every way possible: because of you, our expenses were taken care of; traveling home was possible; broken cars were fixed; supplies overflowed in the cabinets; and we laughed. You kept the wheels turning, and you are our friend.
Mr. Seigenthaler, Mary Kay, Wanda, Gene, Ken, Tam, Madison, Tiffany, Blanca and other members of the Freedom Forum family, thank you. By building this program, you gave us the privilege of entering a profession that we might not have otherwise entered.
You structured this program with all of our needs in mind: food, shelter, money and supplies. And so the only thing we had to do was learn, and dream. And for that we are eternally grateful.
Because of you, nine new and unique voices will be entering newsrooms across the nation within the next month. We will each share our personalities with the world the way we have with each other in the past three months.
Maria will be analytical.
Denyse will be profound.
Gwendolyn will be tenacious.
Loresha will be straight-forward.
Nancy will be witty.
Annette will be strong-willed.
Romano will be precise.
Shawn will be focused.
And I will be long-winded. But not today.
Three months ago, besides being stretched, challenged and pushed, we were also told that we’d be ready.
Although we know that we’ll always have more to learn and that we’ll make mistakes, and although we’ve questioned how ready we really are at times when experiencing anxieties about entering a new profession, in the end, we know that you have taught us everything we need to know. And with your lessons, and our voices, we are ready.
Watch out, world.