I wrote this a few years ago at a baseball board I post at, but with it updated to now. It has my story and a lot of advice for the younger folks (in high school to starting college) from someone who has been there recently.
By the time I was a sophomore in high school, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. So far, I'm on the path to get there. I knew I wanted to be a play by play announcer in some sport as I had no athletic ability to speak of. And I knew I wanted to go to school in Boston.
So on that note, I attended Boston's prestigious... err, decent... maybe above-average, no no no, how about "a trained ape could have gotten accepted when I applied?" How's that? Okay, that works. Emerson College. Since I attended, they started taking acceptance policies a little more seriously as they realized they let people in way too easily. The average SAT score when I applied was 1210. Now, five years later, it was 1350. As an aside, I scored 1300, 610 verbal, 690 math, possibly the only Emerson student to score higher on math than verbal. I also had about a 3.2 GPA from one of the 100 best prep schools in the country and a lot of extra-curriculars, so that helped me out a bit as well. What can I say, I was one of those "slacker genius" types who was so disillusioned by the entire schooling experience that after a while I just lost interest and let the tide carry me wherever it may. In other words, don't be like me.
Anyways, I majored in broadcast journalism, working alongside people who would change my life, 90% for the worse, 5% for the better, and 5% yet to be determined. I knew I wanted to go into announcing as a play by play guy in sports, preferably the NHL, though I'd settle for any pro league. Except basketball. I'm 23 years old, 5'8" with a negative vertical leap, no crossover dribble to speak of, and my shot from three-point range comes up shorter than an impotent midget immune to Viagra. So I don't know a thing about basketball except that I used to be a decent defender when I played in middle school. I averaged more than one blocked shot per game in my 8th grade year. I can analyze a 2-3 or 1-3-1 zone, but offense? Forget it.
Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah, college. It sucked. Make sure you scope a place out BIG time before attending, and steer clear of the assholes and psychos who you think are your friends but turn out to stab you in the back repeatedly in the future. Get rid of those who are your friend only when they need something. Find things you like doing, and stick with those. Don't be afraid to try new things, but also don't be afraid to just stick to the things you enjoy. When you finally are allowed to make your own schedule, try to avoid classes on Fridays and Mondays because if you're like me, you will skip them often. Know who the talkative people are and ask them before class what they thought of the reading we were supposed to do but you didn't do because you were busy making out with that chick from down the hall. They'll probably talk for a while about a few sections and you can pick up enough to get by in class discussions. Learn the art of bullshit. It comes in handy when you have a six page paper due in 4 hours and you haven't researched a single thing. In high school, take AP classes and try to do well on the tests. I took four AP's, got a 3 on each test. Most colleges only take a 4 or better, but like I said, I went to Emerson. A 3 was good enough for them, so I knocked out 16 credits right then and there. Also since I took four years of math in high school and three years of a foreign language, I didn't have to take one. Almost a degree mill, thy name is Emerson. So I got to graduate early, December rather than May. So because of this, I had enough time to pick up a minor. I would encourage you to do so as well. Maybe go for two. I found two things I enjoyed learning about and took 4 classes (16 credits) in each-- bam, that's two minors for me. For me, they were history and music. We had a kickass history professor at Emerson, Rev. Dr. John Coffee. Greatest teacher ever. I think of the history classes I took with him, and it made me want to be a history teacher. Then I remember that teachers don't get paid a whole lot. But journalists don't either. I studied the wrong thing, didn't I?
Anyways, where was I? Oh yeah, college. I survived it with a GPA somewhere between 3 and 4. Doesn't matter now, I have my diploma, that's all that matters. A B.S. in Journalism (B.S. is certainly applicable, if you think about it), minors in history and music. So from there I got a job at a radio station as a producer, sports talk radio co-host, and a DJ, and got paid peanuts. Almost literally. I also started working with the Wichita Falls Wildcats in the North American Hockey League as a play by play announcer on a volunteer basis. This past October, I was hired on full-time.
So there you have it. I wanted to be a sports play by play announcer. And I am. Sort of.
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