Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies
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Pizza parties and found family

I’d always had a strong reluctance toward writing – not because I disliked it, but because I was scared of anyone hearing my thoughts.

Going into my first year of college, I was a studio art major who, like most 18-year-olds, was nervous about moving so far from home. While I wasn’t sure where I would end up in four years, I knew it would be tied to art in some way.

I always assumed a newsroom was not the place for me. Nonetheless, I accepted an invitation from my first-year roommate, Taylor Stumbaugh, to attend the introductory meeting for The Miami Student. I was adamant I wouldn’t end up joining the organization, but I had an afternoon open and a love of free pizza, so I went anyway.

Walking into a newsroom packed with confident writers filled me with anxiety. I saw upperclassmen sitting atop desks, looking down at all of us. I saw journalism majors who didn’t question their belonging in the room. I saw aggressively neon-green walls and dozens of awards adorning them – all from current and former students.

The meeting started, and the group of eager first-years dwindled as different sections broke off into small groups – sports, entertainment, style, opinion, design and on and on – finally ending with photography.

I’ve been taking photos my whole life. Still, the casual questions and welcoming introductions from Jake Ruffer, the photography editor at the time, made me feel completely and utterly inept. At that moment I felt as if I had never taken a photo successfully in my life, but Jake didn’t seem to care. I was welcomed wholeheartedly into the fold, yet still intimidated by what lay before me.

Never before did I have the opportunity to share my work so widely. As I spent the evening reflecting on the first meeting, I became excited by the premise of joining something so public. I would be giving my photography context, and my work would serve a purpose aside from aesthetics. Despite my experience, my anxiety rose as I reached out to contact my first assignment, an incredibly kind professor with a love for literature and Brazilian Music.

Semesters passed, and that same first-year roommate and I climbed the ranks in the newsroom where we now spend most of our days. My first assignment felt like a distant memory as I took on more and more each week. The same “scary” upperclassmen from my first days in Oxford turned into some of my closest friends. The world around me had changed, and I was significantly better for it — even prompting a change in major the spring before my junior year.

Hundreds of my photos have been published since, and while I still over-analyze each one, I no longer cringe at the thought of being perceived. Instead of wincing at the fact that my name now draws search results on Google, I think about all the people, places and events  I’ve been able to shine a light on since joining this organization.

I have explored corners of campus I didn't think existed, such as the newt lab underneath the floor of the biology department; I have met one of my childhood heroes, Dan Povenmire; I have watched artifact restoration at Miami University’s special collections library.

Although I will always have my moments of self-doubt, as we all do, surrounding myself with journalists I respect — people I dearly love — reminds me why I am here.

@SarahEFrosch

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froschse@miamioh.edu

Sarah Frosch is a junior Media & Communications and Art Therapy double major with minors in Studio Art and Art History. She joined The Miami Student her first-year as a photographer and is now the Digital Media editor. 




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