Chloe Gorman, SCSU JRN ’18, knew she wanted to work in media in New York City, and used her time at Southern to make that dream a reality.
She graduated with a B.S. in journalism in 2018, and is now a senior copywriter for Macy’s. Internships and jobs for Martha Stewart Weddings and Country Living helped prepare her for her current job.
What journalism goals did you have when you started at Southern?
I knew that working at a place in New York City was my end goal, and I knew in order to get there you needed to have things under your belt. As soon as I could, I joined the Southern News, and as soon as I could take an internship and fulfill that credit for my graduation, I immediately started looking. I wanted to do whatever I could to make sure I had enough experience that I could compete with other people who were looking for the same positions as I was in New York City.
How was your time here at Southern?
I really enjoyed the Journalism Department. I enjoyed how small it was and how everybody knew each other. I really wanted to get involved and that was definitely something that was out of my comfort zone. In high school, I didn’t get involved in anything. So right away, I got involved in the Southern News, where I started as a copy-editor, and then worked my way up to the arts & entertainment editor position, and then eventually became the managing editor of the newspaper. I met a lot of people who I’m still friends with now and it also set me up for some of my future positions that I would have outside of school.
What do you see yourself doing after Macy’s?
I think what Macy’s, Martha Stewart Weddings and Country Living have helped me see is how big of a role e-commerce is going to play in online publications in the future. Right now, you can’t go online and read an article without being sold something. I think if pursue journalism after my time at Macy’s, I would do something in the e-commerce world.
What advice do you have for journalism students?
I keep saying, stick it out, put in the work, gain the confidence and go to all your classes and really absorb what the professors are teaching you. Because no matter what you end up doing, you still have your soft skills that you learn in class and no matter where you go to work, you’re still going to have deadlines.
You’re still going to have people demanding a lot of you and this department is really demanding.
You really learn a lot and they give you the confidence to go out there in the real world and be prepared for whatever is thrown at you.