Established 1826 — Oldest College Newspaper West of the Alleghenies

What even is AP Style??

Jessica Monahan on the sideline before snapping photos as the Miami RedHawks took on Notre Dame.
Jessica Monahan on the sideline before snapping photos as the Miami RedHawks took on Notre Dame.

It was Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, and I had just finished my first ever week of college classes. I had “Mega Fair” in my Apple Calendar and decided it would be a good idea to go and see what kinds of clubs and activities are on campus. 

Since I took photography classes in high school and found enough passion for it to buy my own camera, I was drawn to a tent with flyers about photography for The Miami Student. Having never been interested in writing, I was apprehensive about joining a newspaper and feeling like I might be out of place.  

I quickly found that being on the sidelines taking photos of the action was my passion. Whether that be football, basketball, hockey or softball, I loved capturing the action. With this, of course, the newspaper was not only going to cover sports, and I reached out of my comfort zone to photograph people on campus and around Oxford.

The Miami Student gave me such incredible opportunities that I will never forget. From the road trips to Detroit, The University of Notre Dame, Cleveland and Cincinnati, they will all be so special to me. 

Nothing will beat the exhilaration of being on the sideline of Nippert Stadium when the Miami RedHawks and the Cincinnati Bearcats were tied, went to overtime and Miami pulled through for the win to take back the Victory Bell for the first time since 2005. Having been able to photograph on two NFL fields for the Battle for the Victory Bell at Paycor Stadium and two MAC Championships at Ford Field were such incredible experiences, and I hope to one day collect more.

Thank you to everyone for helping me expand my knowledge about photojournalism and learn some AP Style rules here and there. I loved photographing our beautiful campus and all of you beautiful people in it.

I can’t believe it’s all coming to an end, but if you take anything away from this, it’s to step out of your comfort zone to do something new.

monahaja@miamioh.edu