Robert Sirven

J483 Journalistic Interview

Final Project

13 March 2015

Concussions In Contact Sports: A Dangerous Game

It was the final game of the regular season with a minute left to play. Michael Hoch, a freshman club lacrosse player, ran down the sideline of the field as fast as he could to try to score in the last remaining seconds of the contest. Then out of nowhere, a lacrosse stick appeared and smacked him hard in the head.

It was the last time he would ever play an organized sport.

Indeed, student athletes like Michael are put at considerable risk for concussions and long-term head trauma from playing contact sports such as lacrosse, soccer, and football. In fact, there are up to 3.8 million cases of concussions related to sports per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most importantly, students that participate in sports at the club level are put in even more danger than Division I athletes due to the lack of funds, equipment standards, and medical care.

According to the Mayo Clinic, the symptoms of a sports related concussion can vary from intense to mild headaches, blurry vision, dizziness, and even loss of memory. In some cases, symptoms can even be close to undetectable without a proper medical diagnosis.

Zach Donner, another club athlete at the U of O, suffered a concussion in 2014 during a soccer game, and the symptoms were subtle enough that he didn’t even realize he had a concussion until a few days later.

“I thought I was just dehydrated,” said Donner.

“I didn’t get it checked out for a while, and I played the game afterwards…but when I started school, that’s when I started having headaches,” he added.

Athletes like Zach who suffer a concussion and return to the playing field without having a medical evaluation can be put at risk for Second Impact Syndrome. According to Dr. Daniel Hutton, a twelve-year neurosurgeon at Sacred Heart Medical Center in Springfield, Second Impact Syndrome can further alter the blood flow to the brain after sustaining a secondary impact following your initial concussion, which can cause significant long-term brain damage.

“Whenever you play sports there’s going to be a risk of getting injured…It’s just something that’s going to happen,” continued Donner.

Due to the rising number of head injuries in soccer, officials at the professional level have even considered eliminating certain aspects of the game like headers, or using one’s head to move the ball, which has been the leading cause of concussions in the sport according to Sports Illustrated.

In response to these potential changes Donner said, “That will never happen. You are trying to take away contact from a contact sport, and it’s not going to be easy.”

Alex Riley, a student club athlete and the coach of the University of Oregon’s Club Soccer team, used to have the same mindset when he was only a player.

“As a freshman I was trying to prove myself,” said Riley.

“I went up for a header in the box, and then the goalie came out and actually punched my head instead of the ball…I didn’t go off the field,” he added.

However, Alex has changed his mentality towards concussions since overtaking the head-coaching role in 2014, and he understands the potential dangers his players face on a weekly basis.

“If I saw someone stumbling around I’d be like, ‘you need to go out right now. You are not going to play for the rest of the game’,” said Riley. “I would love to be able to get tests on my brain all the time.”

Nevertheless, the biggest problem for these club athletes and coaches incorrectly evaluating concussions is from the lack of a medical presence or staff during practice and games. For club sports at the U of O, only two trainers regularly attend games for medical assistance, and that’s only if they are available on game day.

“It’s difficult to find a trainer when they are not very busy. They facilitate to so many different clubs,” said Zach Donner.

Coach Riley has also had his fair share with the availability of trainers.

“There’s no doctor out there, and we don’t have any people on the sideline really telling us, ‘hey that kid is not looking good’,” said Riley.

Certainly, club players and coaches feel that the university has some sort of responsibility for the protection of their athletes regardless of playing level. Still, clubs are essentially left on their own with little funding and proper equipment.

“There’s definitely a lack of it,” added Riley regarding team funding. “We can’t hire professionals to come out and tell us what’s right and wrong. We just do it all ourselves. We pay out of pocket to do most of our things.”

Regardless, club athletes must face these challenges until they are ultimately recognized in an equal light with Division I athletes by their university.

“The biggest issue for the club sports is the medical attention after a concussion,” said Michael Hoch.

“If you’re Division I in a Division I program you’ve got all that hype. In club lacrosse it’s a lot easier to slip that radar because you are not as big as a factor,” he added.

Now a senior at the University of Oregon, Michael Hoch looks back at that night where he suffered his last concussion in the regular season finale of the 2011 club lacrosse season.

“No regrets,” said Hoch. “I was a competitive player and I like to play as hard as I can, so I had to give it my all.”

However, it was his fourth concussion in the past six years, and the eleventh overall in his lifetime. After consulting with his family and numerous doctors in the Eugene and Portland area, Michael has decided that he will never play lacrosse or any contact sport again in a competitive environment.

Luckily, doctors have informed Michael that the damage done to his brain over the years hasn’t been as significant as originally thought, and he plans on graduating from the University of Oregon in the spring without worry for his long-term health. Unfortunately, that doesn’t rule it out.

“It’s not worth getting more concussions, said Hoch.

“I’m trying to support a family and trying to live one hundred years, so might as well not have brain damage.”

 

Sources

 

Human Sources

Zach Donner 

Phone: (541) 497-0702

Email: donner@uoregon.edu

Address: 1222 E 13th, Suite 24 Eugene OR, 97403-1228

Michael Hoch

Phone: (503) 367-1469

Email: mhoch@uoregon.edu

Address: 1222 E 13th, Suite 24 Eugene OR, 97403-1228

Dr. Daniel Hutton

Phone: (541) 636-3653

Email: dshutton@yahoo.com

Fax: (541) 343-9387

Address: 3355 River Bend Drive, Suite 400 Springfield OR, 97477

Alex Riley

Phone: (925) 818-6310

Email: ariley@uoregon.edu

Address: 1222 E 13th, Suite 24 Eugene OR, 97403-1228

Non-human Sources

Daneshvar, Daniel H., Christopher J. Nowinski, Ann McKee, and Robert C. Cantu. “The Epidemiology of Sport-Related Concussion.” Clinics in Sports Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2015.

Kay, Stanley. “With Concussion Reform at Forefront, Should Youth Headers Be Nixed?” SI.com. Sports Illustrated, 2014. Web. 12 Mar. 2015.

Mayo Clinic Staff. “Diseases and Conditions Concussion.” Symptoms. Mayo Clinic.org, 2 Apr. 2014. Web. 19 Feb. 2015

“Traumatic Brain Injury in the United States: Fact Sheet.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12 Jan. 2015. Web. 11 Mar. 2015.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Robert Sirven

J483 Journalistic Interview

Report and Source List

24 February

Final Project Report and Source List

As I have already stated in my pitch, I have decided to do my final project on the issue of concussions and head trauma resulting from contact sports. Although sports like football and hockey remain at the forefront of the head trauma and concussion conversation, athletes that participate in other contact sports such as lacrosse, rugby, and wrestling are subject to the same long-term damage while not particularly being a part of the same spotlight. Although the NCAA has made an effort to prevent these dangers with a $70 million lawsuit settlement, new safety protocol, and concussion research at the Division I level, I will be focusing this project on what has been done in regards to brain injury prevention and awareness in club contact sports that don’t garner as much attention.

My story is about the University of Oregon’s Club Sports such as women’s lacrosse, men’s rugby, and men’s wrestling and the neurological dangers that come with participating. Furthermore, I will also discover what precautions or actions have been taken to prevent head to head contact in these particular sports, and if there have already been a number of student athletes, current and former, at the university suffering from short to long-term head trauma. Moreover, I will be interviewing coaches, players, and even a local neurosurgeon to provide more context and angles to this very relevant issue.

In addition, there are other angles I have considered for this project as a story. For instance, I could focus entirely on the medical aspect of concussions in sports, and discover why no matter what precautions are taken that head trauma is unavoidable. Secondly, I could also focus on a particular athlete that is dealing with concussions on a regular basis, but doesn’t mind because being able to play the sport is more important to him or her than the dangers to their health. Finally, there is the angle from the university’s athletic department and what they believe should be done in response to the concussion threat. In all, the topic of head trauma in contact sports will remain a relevant issue in the American community until it is ultimately solved.

Source List

Dr. Daniel Hutton

Phone: (541) 636-3653

Email: shanna3d@yahoo.com

Fax: (541) 343-9387

Address: 3355 River Bend Drive, Suite 400 Springfield OR, 97477

Description: Dr. Hutton is a local neurosurgeon at the Sacred Heart Medical Center in Springfield, Oregon. Due to his expertise in neurology, Dr. Hutton will provide medical information about concussions, what kind of damage they can cause, and what or if any prevention can be made to stop them in contact sports. Furthermore, he can also recall from his own personal experience of any cases he came across with head trauma in athletes.

Pate Tuisue

Phone: (541) 346-8025

Email: rugbymen@uoregon.edu

Address: 1222 E 13th, Suite 24 Eugene OR, 97403-1228

Description: Pate Tuisue is the head coach of the Oregon Club Rugby Team. From his past experience as a player and coach in rugby, Coach Tuisue can definitely contribute to this project by recounting incidents of concussion with himself or fellow/current players during games. Rugby, being the ultra physical sport that it is, is one of the most overlooked sports in the concussion issue, and Coach Tuisue’s input would be very valuable.

Daniel Larman

Phone: (510) 759-4244

Email: larman@uoregon.edu

Address: 1222 E 13th, Suite 24 Eugene OR, 97403-1228

Description: Daniel Larman is a current student at the University of Oregon as well as the creator of the newly founded Oregon Club Wrestling Team. Daniel, a current wrestler as well, could provide insight on the head trauma topic from his own personal experience in the sport of wrestling.

Cristen Shope

Phone: (541) 346-8025

Twitter: @CristenShope

Email: oregonlacrosse.coordinators@gmail.com

Address: 1222 E 13th, Suite 24 Eugene OR, 97403-1228

Description: Cristen Shope is the head coach of the Women’s Club Lacrosse Team. Concussions and head trauma are rarely talked about in women’s sports, so providing this angle would be very valuable in adding variety to this project. Furthermore, due to their helmets, sticks, and padding, lacrosse also poses additional dangers that could increase the likelihood of a concussion.

Non-human Sources

NCAA Injury Surveillance Program:

http://datalyscenter.org/programs/ncaa-injury-surveillance-program/

Description: The NCAA Injury Surveillance Program provides data and statistics on injuries that occur every year in collegiate sports including concussions.

National Center for Biotechnology Information: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC233178/

Author: Tracey Covassin, C. Buz Swanik, and Michael L Sachs

Description: This article discusses the sex differences and the incidence of concussions among collegiate athletes. The sports included in this article are also the focus of my project.

NCAA:

http://www.ncaa.org/health-and-safety/concussion-guidelines

Description: This source describes the safety protocol and guidelines that athletes must abide by when getting a concussion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For years, I had always wondered the story behind the mysterious scar on the back of my Dad’s head. Growing up, I had asked my parents about it, but they either dismissed my curiosity, or briefly told me that Dad had surgery a long time ago. However, I never knew the whole story, or why they avoided talking about it. Finally, I was able to find out exactly what happened.

In 1987, my parents had been living in New Orleans. After getting married in July of 1986, my newlywed parents moved from Washington D.C., where they went to college at Georgetown, to Louisana. There my Dad would attend LSU medical school, and also be closer to his family whom have resided in Louisiana since he was born. My parents then moved into a small apartment near downtown New Orleans, and my Dad began his first year of medical school.

Although my Mom attributed it to stress and exhaustion from his studies, my Dad started to act strangely around the October of 1987. He began to have these intense headaches that occurred daily, and would uncharacteristically show short episodes of anger and anxiety. My Mom found this odd, but still thought it had to with the struggles of medical school. However, the strange behavior and symptoms continued. My Mom even said that when my Dad was driving that he would start to drift towards the side and the median on the road, and wouldn’t notice. Still, nothing more serious had occurred.

Then one night, my parents decided to go to a movie. Everything was perfectly normal, and when the movie was over, my parents returned home and went to sleep. My Dad then woke up in the middle of the night and began to vomit, and could not stop. He was also in a state of complete confusion, and didn’t understand where he was, or who he was. In panic, and not knowing what to do, my Mom got with one of her neighbors at the apartment complex and they helped my Dad to their car so she could drive him to the emergency room. Instead of driving to the best hospital in town, my Mom drove to the hospital they had insurance for, and the service was anything but helpful.

The nurse there decided to give my Dad morphine, which made him even more confused, and the doctor that night thought my Dad had been drunk or high on a particular substance. However, he had my Dad try to walk, but he couldn’t, and his state of confusion and vomiting intensified. The doctor, who turned out not to be board certified in the state of Louisina, or any state whatsoever, didn’t request for a CAT scan or MRI either, and wanted to send my Dad home with some Pepto Bismol after the morphine eventually wore off. Infuriated, my Mom demanded that my Dad should see a neurologist. Unfortunately, they had to wait 7 hours until 6 a.m. the next morning to see him.

The neurologist that morning ran an MRI and CAT scan on my Dad, and found that there was a tumor the size of a golf ball pushing down on my Dad’s brain stem, and if they didn’t get it out ASAP, he would die. They immediately brought my Dad in for surgery, and Mom tried to contact my Dad’s parents but couldn’t. After six hours of surgery, my Dad was in the recovery room asleep on a gurney with his head wrapped up like a mummy. The sight of my Dad in this condition caused my Mom to pass out, and she herself woke up on another gurney next to my Dad.

My Dad’s parents and other family members eventually made it to the hospital as my Mom finally got contact with them, but it still wasn’t over. The doctors wouldn’t know for a week if the tumor had been cancerous. My Dad had eventually awaked, but ended up having a seizure two days later due to an infection in the area where the tumor had been. He was brought back into surgery again, and from that point on was imprisoned to a hospital bed and IV antibiotics for two months. The tumor thankfully ended up not being cancerous, but it was just the beginning of a long recovery period. My Dad had to regain his motor skills and general movement, and ultimately wanted to return to medical school.

When he finally was back to normal, my Dad decided that he wanted to be a neurologist, so that those who had to go through the experience he had to go through would be treated with the best care possible. The kind of care my Dad didn’t get in that emergency room. At his medical school graduation at LSU, my Dad was then awarded for his perseverance, and got a standing ovation from his professors and classmates.

After hearing this story for the first time, I now understand why my parents didn’t want to talk about it, but I am very happy to have my Dad alive and with me today. He is a really great guy, my best friend, and I’m proud he’s my father. Today, my Dad now works as a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, Arizona.

 

Robert Sirven

J483 Journalistic Interview

Profile Assignment

12 February 2015

 

In November of 2011, news broke around the country with one of the most horrific and disturbing scandals in collegiate sports history. Jerry Sandusky, an assistant football coach for the Penn State Nittany Lions, was charged with 52 counts of child molestation, and the sports world along with the entire American community was taken completely off guard.

Eventually convicted of these crimes, Sandusky was sentenced to a minimum of thirty to sixty years maximum in prison, and what was left in his wake were the remnants of a university and it’s previously untarnished reputation in tatters. The university president, athletic director, and long admired head football coach, Joe Paterno, were all subjects to blame for the decade long cover-up, and the story not only effected the millions of people who watched collegiate sports, but it brought those who were a part of the Penn State family, students and residents of State College, to the brink.

Lori Shontz, now an instructor at the School of Journalism and Communication at the University of Oregon, worked as a writer and senior editor for the Penn State Alumni Magazine, the Penn Stater, during the time of the scandal.

“It was crazy. I can’t express how insane it was to live in State College during that time,” said Shontz.

“It was really horrible. I’m wounded by what happened because I’m a Penn State alum, I was a Penn State employee, and I was a journalist covering this. But my default mode is journalist,” she continued.

As result, Lori along with her colleagues at the Penn Stater ran a black cover for the magazine with the title, “Falling,” and the assumptions that the publication was trying to mend the university’s damaged reputation quickly dissipated.

“The hardest part for me was having people think that because I worked for the alumni magazine that I was there at the time to…to apologize, and we did not do that. We went right at the issue and went very hard at it,” she added.

A seasoned sports journalist, Lori had been covering sports and athletics professionally for more than twenty years before the Penn State incident. Working for publications such as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh Press, and the Miami Herald, she had covered some of the world’s largest sporting events such as the Olympics, Final Four, and the BCS National Championship Game.

Her passion for sports began when Lori was growing up in her native town of Pittsburgh, which is famous for its sports tradition.

“I grew up in Pittsburgh when the Steelers won the Super Bowl every year and the Pirates won the NL East, and that’s how I felt the planet worked,” said Shontz.

“I learned sports from my Dad. When I was a kid I would go to the Pirates games, and he taught me how to keep score. We would walk around the ballpark and watch the game from all different angles. My favorite Pirate was Omar Moreno. He was number 18,” she added with a grin.

Taking her love for sports with her, Lori eventually attended Penn State for her college education where she tried out for the school newspaper during her freshman year. Needing sports writers, the newspaper, The Daily Collegian, put Lori on their sports staff and she knew instantly she had found something she loved.

“It was completely clear the first time I walked in there and got my first assignment that this was the place I was supposed to be, and that was it,” said Shontz.

After her first assignment, countless followed as Lori went on to cover the Summer Olympics twice, the men’s and women’s Final Four 10 times, and even traveled to Kenya in 2001 to write a five part series on the rise of the country’s female runners. This particular piece, “Fast Forward: The Rise of Kenya’s Women Runners and How Sports Can Change the World,” won Lori an APSE award for enterprise reporting as well.

Although many of her stories concerning athletes over the years consisted of cheerful and happy endings, the Jerry Sandusky story was one that could not be shifted into a positive direction. However, Lori used the opportunity to be honest with her readers, and herself.

“My mode was let’s understand this. Let’s understand what happened. So I went to all the places no one else went to. I went to the sociology class where they discussed child sex abuse. I went to the journalism class where they discussed how Joe Paterno was covered. I went to the so-called riot and to the other stuff, but if everyone went right, I tried to go left. And I felt like that was my job”, said Shontz.

“Sports magnify things for us…and it’s not all happy. I have written tons of happy stories about really interesting people who do amazing things, but I have also written stories about the serious side, and I think both of them matter,” she added.

Now with the scandal in her rearview mirror, Lori continues to pursue her love for writing at the University of Oregon with a new role as a teacher. Joining the SOJC staff in September of 2014, Lori is now an instructor for the Reporting I and Gateway to Media I and II courses at the U of O.

Charlie Butler, an SOJC instructor and colleague of Lori at the U of O, believes that her experience is what makes her a great teacher for aspiring journalists.

“She’s not teaching from the textbook, she’s teaching from her real life experiences. I think the combination of expertise and just being a good reporter is what her strengths are,” said Butler.

Lori plans on continuing to teach and write at the University of Oregon in the years ahead. When asked what her pitch was for those who want to enter the field of sports journalism in the future, she said, “Everything that happens in life happens in sports, so if you know sports, you can tell stories about life.”

 

Contact Information:

 

Lori Shontz

Instructor

University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication

lshontz@uoregon.edu

541-346-2347

314 Allen Hall

 

Charlie Butler

Instructor

University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication

cbutler3@uoregon.edu

541-346-2008

314 Allen Hall

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If my doubts had a voice, what would they say?

Although I am certain that I am in the right field of studies, I did have my doubts. My love for music is unquestionable. I have been playing the drums for so long now, I often wonder if I wasted my time practicing and playing the instrument because I am now a journalism major. Music keeps me going, and it is crucial to my overall well-being. I can’t go a day without listening to something, playing along to one of my favorite songs, or playing my own music material. Right now, I am in a metal band that I formed with one of my best friends that I met freshman year at the U of O. We both have a strong passion for the genre, and we have been able to start working on our own material this past year. Since he transferred schools, I have had to travel just to jam, write, and do the recording process. It is a big sacrifice for me because the breaks we get during school are now spent traveling to work on my music when I could be spending time with my family. I often ask myself, “Is it even worth it? I am going to school to become a journalist so why go off and do this with your free time?” I would love to be a professional drummer/musician in a band, but there isn’t much money in the profession now with where the music industry is going. Especially in the metal genre, which isn’t necessarily a part of the mainstream like pop, electronic, or rap. There are many years of hardship that await aspiring musicians until they get their break, but many and almost 90% of them don’t. I believe that I am a very good musician and have the potential to do something in the music business. However, I also have plenty of potential to become a very good journalist, and I don’t want to entirely give that up for music. But at the same time, I don’t want to give up music because I am studying to be a full-time journalist. It is weird trying to balance both of the things I love in my life. My parents are very supportive of what I do, but I often feel confused on which path to take, or lean more towards. Like I said before, journalism is a great bridge for these interests, but I do sometimes wonder if I should have decided to pursue music instead. In the end, I love journalism and everything the profession has to offer, and my plan is to enter that field in the near future. I can keep playing the drums for as long as I want, but the only thing I am dreading is making the ultimate decision down the line in which I will probably have to give music up as a career path. However, I don’t have to give up playing the instrument. At the end of the day, anything can happen.

Recently joining the SOJC staff at the University of Oregon in September 2014, Lori Shontz is an award winning sports writer and editor that has worked for publications such as the Miami Herald, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and the Penn Stater alumni magazine covering major sporting events such as the BCS Title Game, The Final Four, the Olympics, and others. Now an instructor for Reporting I and Gateway to Media I and II at the U of O, the Penn State alumna and Pittsburgh native discusses her experience in the sports journalism field as well as why athletics are so important to life and the public eye.

Q&A:

When did you first realize journalism was what you wanted to pursue?

“I went to college to be a lawyer and came out a sports writer. I tried out for the school paper the second semester of my freshman year, and it was because I liked to write, and they needed sports writers. So, I tried out for the sports staff and I loved it. It was completely clear the first time I walked in there and got my first assignment that this was the place I was supposed to be, and that was it.”

You were obviously a sports fan growing up. What teams did you follow, and what sports did you play as a kid?

“I grew up in Pittsburgh when the Steelers won the Super Bowl every year and the Pirates won the NL East, and that’s how I felt the planet worked. Turns out it was not…I don’t know if I would identify myself as a fan anymore. I’ve done this as a professional for too long. I still enjoy it and appreciate it, but I’m not a fan in the way I used to be. I was an age group swimmer…I was a runner doing cross-country for a while. I am not a very good athlete, but I like sports, so it was much better to be a reporter.”

What is it about sports journalism that you believe makes it so unique and interesting to be a part of?

“I always like to say it’s like people who eat their dessert and vegetables at the same time…that you can write about a lot of big topics that people pay attention to because they are sports. I think athletes are interesting people who do interesting things, and we can learn something about ourselves from the games that we play and the games that we watch.”

In light of what’s happening in the sports world right now, how do you feel about scandal stories in sports? Are there too many of them, or is it good for people to see this side of athletics?

“I think all of society benefits from people looking at it critically and saying ‘what if’ this and ‘what if’ that. A lot of the scandals that are going on right now are about rape culture, about how women are treated, and about how universities treat and investigate sexual assaults. That’s not an issue that is sports specific as well as racial discrimination, which is not sports specific. Sports magnify things for us. That’s why I like sports. I think it gets you to those issues, and it’s not all happy. I have written tons of happy stories about really interesting people who do amazing things, but I have also written stories about the serious side, and I think both of them matter.”

I’m aware that you are very familiar with the infamous Jerry Sandusky scandal a few years ago. What was it like being at Penn State during that time as a writer and editor for Penn State alumni magazine, The Penn Stater?

“It was crazy. I can’t express how insane it was to live in State College during that time. It was really horrible. The hardest part for me was having people think that because I worked for the alumni magazine that I was there at the time to…to apologize, and we did not do that. We went right at the issue and went very hard at it. I’m wounded by what happened because I’m a Penn State alumna, I was a Penn State employee, and I was a journalist covering this. But my default mode is journalist. My great hope for the horror that happened at Penn State is that people are more aware of how common child sex abuse is, and that people do a better job the next time it happens.”

You have also covered the Olympics numerous times. What was that experience like?

“The Olympics are the best because there is so much there. It’s like summer camp for journalists where you get to hang out with cool people in your media dorms, and you get to meet these amazing…you have these amazing Olympic moments. I covered it as the only person for a newspaper, and I wasn’t part of a coverage team. So, if I wanted to do the boxer from East Timor who fled from the rebels into the mountains and ate rice, and then came back and fought somebody from the country that tried to take them over…I’m allowed to do that.”

What is your pitch to aspiring journalists that want to get into sports journalism and uncover stories like these?

“Everything that happens in life happens in sports, so if you know sports, you can tell stories about life.”

Contact Information:

 

Lori Shontz

Instructor

University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication

lshontz@uoregon.edu

541-346-2347

314 Allen Hall

 

 

By Robbie Sirven

Do you think you made the right decision by pursuing journalism?

After three years of journalism studies at the University of Oregon, I can now definitely say that journalism was the right path for me to take. However, it wasn’t such an easy decision to make. Throughout my life, I have always loved two things more than anything else. These two things are sports and music. Although they may seem like they are on opposite ends of the spectrum, I have always found a way to enjoy both simultaneously. From an early age, I started playing sports and followed all of the professional leagues as closely as I could. My favorite team, the Philadelphia Eagles, has always been a constant factor in my life, and sometimes I would call my fandom of that particular team a borderline obsession. I would memorize the coaching staff, depth chart, front office, and even practice squad just so I could know everything about them. Eventually, this became a norm for me as I ended up investigating every team in all the major sports this way, and I quickly realized that I had a passion for it. Over the years, I also developed a love for writing, and writing about sports seemed like something that I definitely wanted to pursue as a career path coming out of high school. However, I also have a strong passion for music. I started playing the drums when I was in middle school, and I haven’t stopped since. My love for sports sort of took a backseat during this time as I turned from being a sports geek into a metal head. I was always constantly involved with music whether it would be practicing by myself for hours, or performing with a band. I also had a summer job where I volunteered as a drum instructor for underprivileged kids. To this day I am still playing music, and I am currently recording an EP with my band on drums as well. In the end, journalism ended up being the bridge where I could pursue both of these interests through writing and other journalistic mediums. It is the perfect middle ground for both subject matters, and myself as a whole.

Is Oregon the right place for you and your studies?

When I was applying for colleges, I wanted to go somewhere that was far away from home, and had a totally different environment than what I was used to. Coming from Phoenix, Arizona, essentially the sibling to Southern California without an ocean, going somewhere where it rained and where there was lush greenery was ideal for me. My older cousin, Sarah, actually attended the University of Oregon before me, and I was able to go to her graduation when I was still a junior in high school. It was then that I was introduced to the beautiful campus at the University of Oregon, and the overall beauty of the state of Oregon and the city of Eugene. I was sold instantly, and looking back I know I made the right call. In addition, being in one of the best journalism schools in the country as well as having great football team doesn’t hurt either.

 

 

 

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