By Abby Miller
As the school year comes to a close, prospective graduates prepare to take the next steps in their career and academic journeys.
Here at The Reporter we prepare to say goodbye to two soon to be FRCC alumni: Jo Carroll and Betty Abate.
Brought together by a mutual interest in journalism, the two began their respective careers in John Young’s Journalism 105 class in Spring of 2022.
The course exposed Abate to, “how investigative journalism really [brings] about change in a way that [brings them] together,” she says.
Before too long, with the encouragement of Young and inspiration found in the lessons of his class, the two joined the paper as staff writers.
Three semesters later, Carroll has been working as the paper’s managing editor and Abate as its PR editor.
“Getting to work with people on the paper [has been] really rewarding and interesting. It is a place to try new things...we have a lot of freedom to experiment and be engineers of what the future of newspapers is going to look like.” Said Carroll.
Both stated that following leads and reporting on stories about FRCC’s recent reorganization over the course of the past semester was a highlight for both.
For Abate, her favorite story published in the paper was ,“Critics in Faculty Say FRCC Admin Neglects Concerns,” an investigative look into the overlooked opinions of faculty members in the reorganization process.
“Student Life Found Dead on Arrival,” chronicles an exodus of FRCC student life staff following some initial steps of the reorganization process, and is a favorite story of Carroll’s.
For Carroll, being a student journalist has been a zero-risk investment with massive reward.
"Writing on the Reporter has been so eye-opening, and I feel like I’ve connected with Fort Collins...it really grounds you” shares Abate, offering a reflection on her experience and encouragement to prospective new writers.
“Regardless of what your interest is, there is journalism for it. Whether it’s science, mathematics, engineering, human rights, the environment, music, arts...whatever it is, you can write about it.” Said Carroll when asked about what they liked most about journalism.
“The organization really brings people together...you never know who you’re going to meet, who you’re going to make friends with, and who you are going to see after you graduate, down the line. Just knowing that you had that community together...it’s empowering,” says Abate.
In the future Carroll plans to attend CSU to major in both journalism and French, hoping to work at The Collegian, intern with news non-profits, and someday work in international reporting.
A future at CSU as well, Abate will be studying journalism and media communication, followed up by work behind the scenes as a producer “deciding what is news-worthy," she said.