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My dream job

Martha Rogus News Writer

Nostalgic memories of the Times Observer came to me as I applied for the job as Reporter and Page Designer a few weeks ago. I grew up in Warren, and have vivid memories of the crisp, delivered paper and the early-morning arrival on the front porch. Like most of you my age, the paper was a part of my parents’ daily life. I especially remember the conversations my parents had with each other about articles on the community pages, weddings and engagements, church news, world events, editorials and letters to the editor, the police blotter, the front page news, and where to shop and dine.

It was a time when the national news dominated the front page and local news started, sometimes, many pages after the headlined news. The regular front-page news was replaced with photos of tragic local events like car crashes, refinery fires, and epidemic furniture-store fires. Times Observer prompted discussions and concerns over survivors, perpetrators, and reasons why the events happened.  The paper was a source for springboarding conversations about moral and ethical choices made by national and international members and leaders, as well as members and leaders of the local community.

Happier conversations about weddings, wedding engagements, community happenings, comics, and horoscopes kept us engaged with the community and each other. Some of my earliest readings were comics, reading headlines, and studying the photos. I have memories of my father reading in both the morning and evening, and my mother reading in the morning and working the crossword puzzles to completion by the end of the day.

So, the Times Observer planted seedlings and gained my respect for news, writing, and writers. I imagined working for the paper at a young age. At one time I knew the names of all the reporters and photographers, and aspired to be a journalist and photographer. I wrote my career report on journalism, and my high school English teacher (Ms. Williams, Warren Area High School) encouraged my excitement for composition, and it was around the same time when the school granted wearing blue jeans to school. I remember her voicing to our class, rather loudly, how teachers should be allowed to wear jeans. I remember thinking she had quite the rebel voice for an English teacher. It was then I started learning how the combination of print media and voice is important to our lives, because print media requires the development of the ability to think about and discern truth and events.  I also remember memorizing the journalists’ 5 W’s (who, what, when, where, and why) in her English class — and remember it to this day.

When my children were in high school, I went back to school to earn a degree in education after teaching Sunday kindergarten religious education classes at St. Joe’s in Warren for 15 years. My kids were soon to leave the nest, and our 1-hour photo business became obsolete with the discovery of the photon, development of digital cameras, and the construction of Walmart in Warren and Corry where we had shops. I needed a job to help with the bills and expenses of raising two, very involved teenagers nearing college.

My first-year college English classes brought back my love for writing and I earned an “A” on my first paper. I started to relish the idea of earning a PhD in English and found I loved learning in my forties. But I needed a job. I graduated cum laude from Edinboro University with a degree in elementary education, with several writing credits. The school district was laying off teachers the year I graduated, so my husband and I agreed I should continue on and earn my master’s degree, if I could get accepted into an English program. The plan was to teach in a college after that. I was short about six credits to declare a minor in writing, but I was accepted into Gannon’s English, Master-of-Arts program, and I accepted. I graduated in 2011. Ironically, a Times Observer article triggered my master’s thesis topic.

Now an adjunct professor of English at Gannon and because of my passion for writing, my husband and I agreed I should continue and earn my PhD in a composition-based program. With the support of some great professors at both universities (Douglas King, Penelope Smith, Laura Rutland, Sally LeVan,  Berwyn Moore, Tom Lipinski, John Repp, Bob Hass, Jeremy Sideris, Bridget Jeffery, and John Cussins, to name a few), plus my husband and two daughters, family and friends, and my faith — I was accepted into Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s (UP) Composition and Teaching English to Students of Other Languages (TESOL) program.  However, after a health scare and family concerns (I truly missed my homelife), I revisited the idea of earning my PhD and wasn’t sure what I would do with a PhD anyway. My husband liked his job and was recently promoted, one daughter found gainful employment in State College, and the other daughter was graduating from college. I happily left after one semester at IUP but continued writing academic conference papers, blogs, a website, a feature-length film, and a Big Bang Theory episode.

After a few random jobs that, thank God, did not work out, and classes avaliable to teach as an adjunct professor weren’t offered consistently — a position at Times Observer opened up. The timing was perfect. I applied, thinking they weren’t going to hire me because I had applied in the past and only received rejection letters. But this time was different. I was interviewed and soon hired by Times Observer’s managing editor, Jon Sitler. My first day was Jan. 29. Since then, I met the writers (Stacey Gross, Andy Close, Andrew Morrison, Brian Ferry, Josh Cotton, Ben Oviatt) and like what I see and hear in the newsroom. I look around and can imagine what it must have looked like all those years ago when reporters used typewriters and the printing press to complete the daily news. Things have changed but a lot has stayed the same, like the sections of the paper mentioned above.

I can’t believe I’m finally here and working my dream job — one that has alluded me for years. I get to work with words, passionate writers and wordsmiths, other Times Observer supervisors and staff, and the community. To me, this isn’t work at all. Kathy Lee Gifford (Hoda and Kathy Lee) often quotes her father who once said, “Find what you love to do and find a way to get paid for it.”

After many years of trying, I think I finally did.

Words are a responsibility. I’m not always very good or successful at articulating thoughts in spoken word, and do better with the written word because of the erase and thesaurus features, which I use a lot!

I love to write and wrestle with words until I get exactly what to convey in print. So thank you, Times Observer, and everyone mentioned here for helping my dream to come true, and I hope all of yours come true. I also hope, and will strive, to serve you well.

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