Like mother, like daughter may be the best explanation for Rachael Gray’s interest in journalism. What started out as a young girl simply accompanying her mother to work became Rachael’s Gray future. She was first introduced to the world of journalism through her mother’s work as a newspaper reporter.
“I thought her job looked really fun because she got to talk to and meet people all day and then write about their interesting lives,” said Gray.
Naturally, Gray’s mother and her mother’s bosses at The Marysville Advocate are her greatest influences.
“They would always let me work in the mail room and then eventually start writing stories form them when I was in high school and college,” said Gray. “They gave me a generous scholarship when it was time for me to attend college.”
While in high school Gray took as many English, writing, and journalism classes as she could. She then went on to attend the University of Kansas and majored in Spanish and print journalism. While in college, she was involved in the school’s newspaper and photography. Gray now writes for the Garden City Telegram in Garden City Kansas as an education reporter.
“A lot of what I do as an education reporter is following the local college and local high school’s meeting. I try to keep a camera and notepad with me at all times because you never know when there is a story.” said Gray.
As an education reporter, Gray is also exposed to a lot of history and her most memorable moment as a journalist came from a Memorial Ride taken by the Cheyenne American Indian Tribe from Oklahoma to Montana. The Memorial Ride was taken to cleanse the land and the memories of their people. After being displaced to an Indian Reservation in Oklahoma, their leader tried to take them back to Montana. They then had to fight with the U.S. Calvary but instead of killing the Cheyenne, the U.S. Calvary killed their horses so they couldn’t get away.
“I learned a lot that day about their struggle and had a really neat experience with them.” said Gray.
Gray sees the new era of technology impacting journalism greatly.
“It’s not just about writing anymore,” said Gray. “It’s about technology and how to tell a story digitally. It’s really important to know how to shoot videos, edit sound and take photos now to present the news in different ways. “
Gray offers valuable advice for any aspiring journalist on how to prepare for the changing future of journalism.
“Become familiar with a camera,” said Gray. “The principles are still the same, but the ways in which we tell stories are very different.”
Visit Gray’s newspaper online at http://www.gctelegram.com/.
