Professional Statement: Striving for greatness in the profession of destiny

When asked why I got into journalism, I always have to explain that it probably started because of smoking.

I helped deliver a weekly advertising publication when I was younger, and one night my friend and I finished with extra copies. We couldn’t return them, so we decided to burn them in our trash barrels.

As we did so, I pretended to smoke one like a cigar, and I accidentally inhaled.

In my naivety, I panicked that I would become addicted to smoking.

Obviously that is not how the habit works, but I like to tell people I am addicted to journalism because of that night.

Really, though, my journalism career started the summer before my senior year of high school.

I attend the American Legion Boys State of Kansas, and there I was elected editor-in-chief of the daily newspaper that serves the week-long program.

Why did I receive the job with no prior experience? I think I got the job because journalism is what I am supposed to do.

Since my high school did not have anything journalism related other than yearbook, I got my first taste of reporting my freshman year at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College.

I was named sports editor immediately. Again, no experience, but I quickly realized I loved journalism.

My instructor and adviser, Alan Montgomery, was instrumental in this. He showed me what journalism was all about. He even helped another student and I cover the round-the-world flight of Steve Fossett in 2005, in which case we were closer to the man than national media.

Of course, that was just the beginning.

Since then I have been the editor-in-chief of two student newspapers; the webmaster of two student newspapers; a weekly columnist for The McPherson (Kan.) Sentinel, a small daily newspaper; an intern at the Greteman Group, a public relations firm; and an intern at The Wichita (Kan.) Eagle, a medium-sized daily newspaper. Plus I have been an on-air personality and audio technician at a small radio station.

However, the job I am most proud of is the job of running my own business, Lucky Se7en Mobile DJ Services, which I started when I was 18 years old.

Without some of these jobs, I wouldn’t have figured out how perfect journalism is for me, and I definitely wouldn’t have learned what I want to do in the field.

I am fascinated with technology and its relationship with journalism. I would love nothing more than to perfect my Web site-designing skills and become a Web journalist who can literally do it all in the way of disseminating news via the Internet.

Some of the work I have done for newspapers and business owners can be seen at vogtsworld.com, but I think I can do much better.

I am a life-long learner, and I never want to stop pursuing my goal of being one of the best Web journalists.

I will never stop striving for greatness that Rob Curley and Bob Woodward could both be proud of.

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About toddvogts 849 Articles
Todd R. Vogts, Ph.D., is an assistant professor of media at Sterling College in Kansas. Previously, he taught yearbook, newspaper, newsmagazine, and online journalism in various Kansas high schools, and he ran a weekly newspaper in rural Kansas. He continues to freelance as a professional journalist from time to time. Also, Vogts is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the Journalism Education Association (JEA), and the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC), among others. He earned his Master Journalism Educator (MJE) certification from JEA in 2022. When he’s not teaching or writing, he runs his mobile disk jockey service and takes part in other entrepreneurial ventures. He can be reached at twitter.com/toddvogts or via his website at www.toddvogts.com.