Major: Journalism, emphasis on news-editorial
UO Graduation year: 1999
Job Title: Assistant multimedia editor for features for the Baltimore Sun
More than eight years ago, University alumna Sarah Kickler Kelber met the head of the copy-editing department for the Baltimore Sun. It was the summer before her senior year at the University and she was at a conference of the American Copy Editors Society.
At the conference, Kickler Kelber exchanged contact information with the copy chief, kept in touch, and almost a decade later is the assistant multimedia editor for features for the paper.
“I had started looking at the east coast,” Kickler Kelber said, and she found out at the conference that the Sun was setting up a two year internship. Then, as a result of her connection with the copy chief, the paper already had her name when it
finalized the plans. This resulted in an interview and the acquisition of the position that opened the door to her career.
Kickler Kelber said that one of the most important things a University student can do is plan ahead.
“There’s definitely leg work to be done,” Kickler Kebler said. “Try to start laying the groundwork as early as you possibly can. There are a lot of smart people with a lot of contacts out there.”
Kickler Kelber encourages students to use professors as resources and get an internship before leaving the University.
“Get your foot in the door at a place while you can earn credit because you don’t want to work for free,” she said.
Then, once you’ve acquired an internship, show initiative
“Be motivated and show that you’re glad to be here,” said Kickler Kelber who works with a lot of interns. “It’s a breath of fresh air to have someone still excited about newspapers and writing.”
However, one thing is even more important still, especially for students interested in working for a newspaper.
“I cannot overstate the importance of accuracy in everything,” she said, adding that nothing sticks in the mind of an editor more than having to make a correction.
Kickler Kelber came to the University in 1995 knowing that she wanted to be a journalism major. At first, she thought about doing magazine, but after a tour of the Emerald’s newsroom, she knew that newspapers were where she wanted to be.
“I was extremely lucky that I did know what I wanted to do because it’s almost eight years later and I’m still in the same place,” Kickler Kelber said, “I don’t know where I’d be if I wouldn’t have known.”
– Linda Gerstenberger