Desiree Nixon

On Sept. 28, 2021, John Quiñones came to Missouri State University as part of the Public Affairs conference that the University regularly has. In the past, they have had guests like Julia Michaels and Bobby Bones. I have never gone to one of these conferences or been thoroughly involved until this year. This year, John Quiñones came.

As a child I watched John on the hit TV show What Would You Do? It is essentially journalism that tests people’s ethics. It tests if people put into a bad situation will react good or bad. The episodes would often spark debate in my house and always made me think deeper. I had no idea that he would be such an influence in my journalistic career until I was able to meet him.

Subconsciously he represented the idea of journalism that I hoped for. He represented the fourth estate. He represented journalists who get the bad guy and try to bring change to the world.

As a journalism student, it is sometimes doom and gloom. You often wonder if you are getting a degree that people will trust. You wonder why people hate you so much. You wonder why people say, “Fake News.”

I know the “answers” to all of these questions. But, John was able to assure me that if I stay true to myself, there is hope. From his sit-down with students he had before his keynote speech, I gathered that journalism MATTERS. Journalists MATTER.

We may have bad days, it may make our camera people sad. But, our sad days can help change the world. If we cry at a situation, other people will too. Other people can help bring change. We shine a light on issues that may not be talked about.

While I am in classes now that teach me how to be a good broadcaster, the best thing that I learned from John was simply to practice. Don’t beat yourself up, you have room to practice. I told him my aspirations. He said, “Springfield is a great place to start.” Someday I will be at ABC in NYC and I will thank John for the kind inspirational words he gave to an aspiring journalism student in southwest Missouri.