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Iris Kuo


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University of Texas at Dallas senior writes about her big break through AAJA "Voices" project.

Iris Kuo is a senior at the University of Texas at Dallas who will graduate in May with a B.S. in business administration, a B.A. in arts & performance and a minor in government & politics. She is the editor-in-chief of the school newspaper, The UTD Mercury, where she has worked for two years. Iris was born in Taiwan and grew up in Alabama and Texas. She speaks fluent Mandarin and will be interning at the Wall Street Journal in Hong Kong this summer.

Nearly a year ago, I was chosen to be a reporter for Voices, the student-produced newspaper for the AAJA convention in Hawaii last June. I remember basking in the glory of Honolulu for a few short minutes - before being immediately put to work on various articles.
I barely saw the light of day from the amount of work I was doing, but it was worth the experience. There was reporting on Knight Ridder's sale and its impact on funding for journalism groups like AAJA, a column on my cultural experiences and a front-page piece on a heated town hall meeting that discussed the financial future of AAJA, including ethical considerations in accepting donations. This was on top of two stories I'd written before my plane even took off. It was a lot of work, but a solid hands-on experience - and there was some time for the beach, despite the long hours.
Through the editors there, I got great mentoring and career advice. One editor pulled me out of an interview so I'd have time to visit the job fair. He sent me to the Wall Street Journal's booth, where I met a woman who, six months later, hired me as an intern for their Hong Kong bureau. My editors also set me up with recruiters with Knight Ridder/McClatchy, Gannett, New York Times and Hearst Newspapers.
The experience was invaluable in terms of training and networking, and it led to opportunities after the project ended - I was tapped for a similar project covering a U.N. Nations youth summit in New York. I still keep in touch with many of the people I met that summer.
If there are any young, aspiring journalists out there, AAJA student projects are a great way to get your foot in the door. Airfare and hotel are covered, so there's no excuse for not doing it.

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