Teen follows journalistic aspirations

Adam Rush, junior at Ladue, sits at the KTRS 550 Radio Station. Rush completed his internship at the station in early March but said the experience will stick with him forever.

By Adam Rush, Junior, Ladue Horton Watkins High School

At age 4, I wanted to be an astronaut. I believed traveling to space would be the most fulfilling thing I could ever do. I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I grew up. It was only later that I discovered journalism. 

I started to read the newspaper when I was about 8 years old. I downloaded the St. Louis Post Dispatch on my iPod and read the sports section every day. I was fascinated by the insider information on the Cardinals and the never-ending statistics on the Blues. But I still had not realized that journalism was my calling. 

When freshman year of high school came around, I still struggled to see what was right in front of me. I had an inkling of an idea that I wanted to cover sports as a career but, intuitively, I knew something was missing. I wanted to make a difference in the world and, for me, reporting on baseball, football or hockey just never seemed right. 

I finally had an epiphany when I signed up for two journalism courses my sophomore year of high school. 

Once I was enrolled in class, my classmates and I were all given free subscriptions to The New York Times in order to read and study professional writing. This was an amazing and life-changing experience for me. I read the news every day, immediately scrolled through the political section once I woke up, and went line-by-line through every exposé I could find. There were these curious people in the world  trying to make it a better place through writing. It hit me then. That would be me. I wanted to be an investigative reporter.

In pursuit of my goals, I’ve tried to learn everything I could about reporting. I have read “All the President’s Men” and watched the movie twice. I dive into every Bob Woodward book and anything else I can find on reporting. I’ve watched “Spotlight” countless times. Everything just seemed to click once I knew what I was going to do. 

Now I’m the news editor of my school’s publication. I write for Ohr Chadash, a wonderful opportunity for aspiring writers like me. I also intern at a radio station. I do all this, and I love  it. I’ve found my path in high school, and it is the greatest feeling in the world. 

I know some people never find their passion, and end up searching their entire life for something they truly care about. I’m lucky, and I don’t ever want to give that up. For me, becoming a journalist is better than space travel could ever be.