Taking on New Adventures

I still feel young. I think I act pretty young too. But then I speak to college students about their experiences and realize that I am the age, if not a little older, of most of their parents! So maybe I’m not quite as young as I feel?

Recently, I did an industry immersion session via Zoom with some students from the University of Alabama’s College of Communication and Information Sciences. The session was part me talking about my experiences in work as and part answering their questions. The hour session wasn’t enough time, to be honest. There were some fabulous questions and many were completely unexpected.

But it got me thinking about being 22 again. Ready to conquer the world with all the knowledge but in reality, just a little knowledge. I remember those days, thinking I knew so much. But I also had an understanding that what I knew barely scratched the surface.

Hearing the questions from these students made me happy. They were curious, informed and also just wanted to know about life in the business. Not just news but in overall business. Through their questions, I was able to remind myself that even though I am not 22 anymore, I can live with that wonder and merriment even now, at the age of 45. I still have that curiosity I had at 22 and while I have more road traveled, for lack of a better term, I am anxious and excited about the parts I’ve not ventured out to. That gives me hope for the future.

The other thing that gives me hope is that we have a group of young people who are smart, eager to work and willing to learn. All of those things combined tell me that we are in good hands in the future. Of course there will be those outliers that get more press, but every generation since the early days of journalism has those. If I’m being honest, I’m glad the millennials are growing up. That means that Gen Z is moving on in and I have high hopes with this age group.

I look forward to following the career paths of those who are navigating this strange world of trying to attend class, build experience and network while sitting at home. I look forward to seeing what new technologies, strategies and more come from this group of young people. I think this is one of those times in our lives that their experiences will drive the future of communications, from journalism to PR and beyond.

I do think that the future of the communications world is bright!