Pearl Spurlock

In the Ohio University Honors program, our curriculum usually revolved around three pathways: leadership, research and creative activity, and community engagement. Above all, I feel that my four years at Ohio University most consistently reflected the community engagement pathway. 

As a photojournalism student, a large portion of my academic and extracurricular work was about interacting with community members and uncovering new stories, especially human interest topics. As a freshman, my worldview was expanding constantly as I connected with people from different backgrounds. A big part of that was due to my first class, Introduction to Ohio Honors. 

One of the most significant experiences I had during that class was attending a panel discussion at the Athena Cinema. The discussion was led by a man who had been wrongly accused and convicted of murder, and who was exonerated after many years in prison. Hearing him talk was inspiring yet sad, and it made me want to continue to use journalism as a way to amplify people’s voices and stories so that the public doesn’t remain unaware. 

In another honors class, Knowing The Past and Changing the Future, we studied the difficult history of public lands like national and state parks and explored how public lands are utilized in the present day. We got to take a day-long field trip to places like Strouds Run and Wayne National Forest, where we talked to experts about the method of maintaining public lands and what threats are impacting them, such as fracking and deforestation. 

Through my co-curricular experiences, I further expanded by ability to engage with the community. After my freshman year, I had the opportunity to take a summer job at Yellowstone National Park, where I worked at the front desk of a park hotel. Taking the job was completely out of my comfort zone, but it was an incredible experience to meet so many new people and immerse myself in such a beautiful landscape. I got to check people in from all over the world and help them plan their itineraries. Interacting with so many individuals who had a shared interest and love for Yellowstone was amazing, and it made me more extroverted. 

For some of my other co-curriculars experiences, I worked at student organizations. As Photo Director for Backdrop Magazine, I managed a staff of photographers, coordinated photoshoots, and edited work. As secretary and, later, vice president of our student chapter of the National Press Photographers Association, I helped coordinate meetings and events and bring in speakers. I also ran the bulk of our social media communications so that people knew what we were up to and what was being planned. These roles at both Backdrop and NPPAOU taught me how to efficiently communicate with the public, especially when it came to coordinating events or photoshoots with busy working professionals. 

Independently and for class assignments, I worked on photo stories and essays that covered the lives of community members. I explored topics like midwifery, Pentecostalism, and homesteading. 

In the end, my honors college and Ohio University experience was largely defined by my interactions and journalism pursuits with the public. Getting to know so many people of Athens outside of the university was an incredible privilege and really complemented my academic experience.