Sterling P. Sanders

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is where I first cut my teeth on the world of journalism. I began my experiences as a Computer Engineer, but quickly discovered the level of boredom I received with its curriculum. Though I've always had technical and scientific ability, and had been doing computer programming since 1995, I discovered how bored it could make me. So I looked for another path to take, one that was dynamic, and I found it.

There is no field more dynamic then that of a journalist. It's an occupation that exudes the necessity to, not just communicate effectively, but to be able to incite, absorb and handle change.

The world of journalism is never the same twice. You cover different stories, and you have to learn and relearn continuously, effectively and comprehensively enough to convey that knowledge to your audience with brevity, clarity and insight.

The path of a journalist begins with writing, learning how to do research, and present ideas in a logical fashion to show an entire picture. This a large amount of writing and research experience is a necessity, and why the University of Illinois is a fantastic ground from the breeding of writers.

The below examples are only but a glimpse at the volume, quality and different writing experiences I had during my undergraduate years. Some of these were meticulously crafted research papers, while others were feasibility proposals, and yet others were whimsical opinion pieces.

It was writing experiences like these which helped me perfect my ability to communicate through the art of words. Below are but a fraction of what I have written at the University, but remain some of the highest quality work I have achieved. Recommended for reading are: Affirmative Action and the People, The Digital Age: An Administrations Dedication to a New Era of Copyright Law, U.S. and Iraqi Conflict, Presidential Paradox, Constitutionally Undemocratic and Digital Editing: A New Era of Media.

Visit the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign online at www.uiuc.edu, and the Department of Journalism at www.comm.uiuc.edu.