Jeremy Cox - Fall 2001

Curiosity drove me into journalism. I have always tried to find out as much as I could about the things that interested me. As a journalist, my favorite question to ask during interviews is “And then what happened?” My professional goal is to write stories that not only inform—to tell the audience what happened—but also fulfill a reader’s curiosity. That means getting all the details and writing an engaging story.

I will be seeking a full-time reporting position in December, after I complete my exciting internship with the Scripps Howard News Service in Washington D.C. Last August, I graduated from the University of Florida with a journalism degree, emphasis in news reporting. I feel fortunate to have attended a school with such a high-ranking journalism program. It left me feeling confident in my ability and ready to take on anything.

Through internships and other professional experiences, I have already begun to put what I’ve learned into practice. My first internship was at a weekly called The Forum (Coral Springs, Fla.), where I got my feet wet covering a city beat and business features. Next came The Boca Raton News, where I spent a summer working daily. Because of its small staff, the paper allowed me to try my hand at almost everything: entertainment features, business news, general assignment reporting and even some copy editing. My longest-running and most extensive experience has been at the Gainesville (Fla.) Sun. Beginning as an intern and continuing as a stringer, I worked on the Daybreak section for a year and a half, writing stories about everything from Pearl Harbor survivors to tips on shopping at consignment stores.

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