by Shelby Toth
Having to move from place to place isn’t new to Margaret Stewart. She began her life in South Carolina, before relocating to Spencerport about 10 years ago, where she was quickly able to find a group of friends due to the small town nature.
“Everyone kind of knows each other and it makes for – I mean, if a rumor gets out everybody knows – but most of the time it’s a really good time,” Stewart said.
In her college career, Stewart has been enrolled in three different schools, and is currently attending The College at Brockport studying journalism and English literature.
While she misses the warmth of Carolina, Stewart has found a place for herself here. However, staying local after college isn’t her goal.
“I don’t know if I want to stay in Rochester,” Stewart said. “I mean, Rochester and Spencerport are home, but I’d really like to not stay.”
Despite not wanting to stay local, receiving the Excelsior Scholarship while she’s been in college means Stewart will be in New York for the next few years, either in graduate school or pursuing a job.
“I have to stay here for the next two years, so I’m working on internships and getting my foot in the door,” Stewart said. “Trying to slowly but surely network and get my foot into places.”
This goal is what led Stewart to shadowing reporters from WHEC Channel 10. They have helped her learn more realistic expectations for what going into the field of journalism will look like, as well as showing her the skills she still needs to learn if she wants to follow their career path.
Stewart has a tentative plan for how her next year should be. She hopes to intern at Channel 10 this spring, and is applying to TIME, National Geographic and Penguin Random House for internships in the summer. With the variety of options she’s looking in to, she still isn’t sure exactly what job she’d like.
“I’m back and forth between print media and T.V. journalism at the moment,” Stewart said. “And so if I was to move, I know that TIME and National Geographic both have locations in D.C. as well as New York City. I wouldn’t actually ever want to really live in New York City, I think that the city life is not something I’m accustomed to and it’d be crowded, and I’ve just always lived in the suburbs, so I’d rather live in Westchester or New Jersey if it came down to that.”
At the end of the day, though, Stewart isn’t that picky on where she ends up. She realizes that in order to get a job, she has to be flexible and open to different locations, as well as potentially moving around a lot. She noted that many contracts are two years for journalism jobs, but that she has no problem moving around because she’s done it all her life.
What matters most to Stewart is finding a job where she can create content she cares about.
“I know that not every project is going to be a passion project, but I want to feel some sort of really close connection to what I’m writing in some way,” Stewart said. “I have no problem being in a super small market, doing what I love, as long as I’m doing what I love.”
Stewart may be worried about the future ahead, as many college students are. But no matter how many new jobs and new places she finds herself, it will be just another adventure for Stewart.
Editor’s note: This is the latest in a series about local millennials and their career plans. Shelby Toth, a student at The College at Brockport and intern for Westside News will now be reporting these stories. If our readers would like to suggest a millennial for this series please email the information to info@westsidenewsny.com.
